Markets

Nikkei 225
28,751.62
▼ -747.66 / -2.53%

SSE Composite
3,564.09
▼ -20.09 / -0.56%

IBOVESPA
102,224.26
▼ -3,586.99 / -3.39%

Straits Times
3,120.58
▼ -45.69 / -1.44%

BMV IPC
49,492.52
▼ -1,132.48 / -2.24%

Dow Jones
34,899.34
▼ -905.04 / -2.53%

DAX 30
15,257.04
▼ -660.94 / -4.15%

BSE SENSEX
57,107.15
▼ -1,687.94 / -2.87%

FTSE 100
7,044.03
▼ -266.34 / -3.64%

JSE Top 40
62,410.83
▼ -1,651.91 / -2.58%
Last Week’s Highlights

New Covid variant makes markets tremble
Markets worldwide got affected by the new African variant of the Covid-19. Companies seemed to be recovering after the pandemic crisis, but this new variant will likely bring back lockdown measures. This news caused the European index STOXX to have its worst day since September 2020 last Friday with a drop of 2.7%, just as the British FTSE 100. On the other hand, the German index DAX lost 3%, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 fell 2.5%. This scenario is expected to continue until scientists know more details about the new variant of the virus.

Blurry outlook for world travel and oil prices
Last week, oil prices had their worst day since April 2020 by losing 12% due to the announcement of a new Covid variant. Last Thursday in South Africa, the World Health Organization confirmed the detection of a new variant of the virus that is probably vaccine-resistant due to its mutations. This has generated worries in some countries, analyzing the decision of possible recent lockdowns. This may cause travel to decrease, worsening oil’s depreciation.
Coming Up This Week

Travel stocks hit by the new strain
Stocks of several travel companies have lost value due to the discovery of the new Covid variant. Airlines and hotels are the most affected. Delta Airlines and Jet Blue lost 8% and 5%, respectively. Expedia stocks dropped 11%, while Airbnb lost 3%. Also, both Norwegian Cruise Line and Cruise Operators Carnival reached their 52-week lows last Friday. After the overwhelming experience of the spread of the delta variant, prompt travel restrictions are expected to be the right decision to decrease potential infections.

Is the metaverse the future of businesses?
Metaverse can become the future. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, desires to work with more e-commerce-related businesses within Facebook, which shows metaverse may be the next step for his company. “(The metaverse) is a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at”, declared Zuck. Other companies such as Epic Games, Roblox, and InVision support this idea. The CEO of Epic Games assures the metaverse has the potential to become a trillionaire industry and a fundamental part of the world economy. It would be an open, equal space for all the companies in the world.