The new Covid strain discovered in Africa has caused a lot of discomfort in the world population. Scientists affirm that the virus now has vaccine-immune mutations with a higher spreading capacity. This news have affected, among other things, the world economy.
Stocks worldwide have been varying their behavior due to the new omicron. New mutations generate doubts among investors, causing a high level of volatility in the markets.
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the Asia-Pacific region. For example, in Hong Kong, despite the Hang Seng index jumping 0.55%, stocks of a hardware company, Razer, dropped 7.87%. In the same way, the Chinese index Shanghai Composite fell to 3,573.84, and the Shenzhen Component decreased 0.914%.
Japan suffered a slip in its indices as well. The Nikkei 225 decreased 0.65%, and the Topix fell 0.54%. Meanwhile, North Korea had a stroke of different luck. Kospi index increased 1.57%, which allowed it to close its day at 2,954.27. What is causing all these mixed moves? Additional policies and potential new quarantine measures, maybe?
Just as in Asia-Pacific, stocks in the US have been jumping around. In Wall Street, shares had a sudden variation overnight because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of the omicron in the US.
The case was discovered last Monday in North Carolina. According to the White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, the virus was detected in a fully vaccinated patient. He stated that symptoms have been increasing, so the patient is in isolation.
News about the omicron in the US indeed caused uncertainty among American investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 461.68 points last Wednesday; the S&P 500 lost 1.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.83%. After the first positive case of the new variant in the country, Biden’s administration is considering implementing sanitary measures that may affect the travel industry and hotel stocks.
Regarding the slips suffered through this week, there was a relevant sell-off. However, the indices recovered the very next day. The DJIA gained 617.75 points on Thursday, while the S&P 500 increased 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite grew 0.8%.
It’s been said that the more volatility, the greater the risk is. Nevertheless, there’s also the chance to obtain some interesting earnings due to market movements. With all the frequent news about the new variants of the virus, the market is currently having a season of high volatility. Do you think this is a good time to invest? If so, what would be your picks?
Find more information and the latest news about the effect of the virus in the world economy inside the last edition of our NewsFlight weekly newsletter.
