The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust lost ground once again Tuesday as investors try to get a clear picture of just how much of a negative economic impact the omicron variant of COVID-19 will have on the global economy. Near-Term Weakness Omicron was a major topic at the BNP Paribas 2022 Global Outlook virtual press event on Tuesday. BNP Chief Global Economist Luigi Speranza said Tuesday that the emergence of a new COVID variant does not significantly change the firm’s bullish medium-term outlook for the global economy. “Our bias overall is to think recent developments are a net negative for growth but more ambiguous for inflation,” Speranza said. “The extent of the impact will depend on the transmissibility, virulence and—crucially—the ability of the omicron variant to evade vaccines, which will not be known for at least a couple of weeks.” As a result, Speranza said it will likely be unlikely investors will see a …