14:34
Traffic jam:   4
$
92.2628
99.7057

Stock market plunges after reports of dangerous new COVID strain from South Africa

27 November 2021
3489
2 min.
8
Stock market plunges after reports of dangerous new COVID strain from South Africa

Coronavirus and stock markets

Stock markets in the US and Asia fell sharply on Friday amid reports of a dangerous new strain of COVID from South Africa, with cases of infection detected in Hong Kong. Countries are closing air borders and WHO will hold a meeting today.

US stock futures fell in morning trading on Friday amid reports of a dangerous new strain of COVID.

Trading volumes for Friday morning were low as markets were closed on Thursday because of the US Thanksgiving holiday, which could have contributed to volatility.

Michael Hewson, an analyst at brokerage CMC Markets, said that "due to low liquidity in trading in Asia, due to the US weekend, the reaction does seem to be overreaction, with rising bonds driving yields down and gold up".

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 800 points, or about 2.5 per cent, after the index fell 9 points on Wednesday to close at 35,804. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also fell sharply. Overseas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.7% and Europe's Stoxx 600 fell 3.5%.

WHO authorities reported the first Thursday as a new strain of Covid-19 B.1.1.529 in Botswana in the Central African province of Botswana. The Britain has temporarily suspended flights from six African countries.

According to South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla, the covid-19 strain is a "serious concern", a "serious threat", as reported cases are on a steep rise.

As of Thursday, almost 100 cases of the new strain had been identified in South Africa, where it has become the dominant strain among new infections. Early PCR test results showed that 90% of the 1,100 new cases reported on Wednesday in the South African province, including Johannesburg, were caused by the new COVID B.1.1.529 strain. WHO said it would convene a meeting on Friday to define the new strain as "of interest" or "of concern". Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical manager for Covid-19 said: "The concern is that when a strain has so many mutations, it can affect the behaviour of the virus."

WHO said the mutations in COVID strain B.1.1.529 are unknown and "will be subject to further research".

"Many will be watching to see how serious this disease is and the extent to which available vaccines protect against it. Very little is known at this stage," said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank.

Persons4 and Companies4 in the news

Research Strategist at Deutsche Bank
1 place
Infectious disease epidemiologist
2 place
Minister of Health in South Africa
3 place
Chief market analyst at Cmc Markets
4 place
Deutsche Bank
1 place
Nasdaq
3 place
Dow Jones
4 place
Section:

Discussion

Rating companies
Tesla
14 Mention
Instagram
13 Mention
JP Morgan Chase
12 Mention
Walt Disney Company
12 Mention
Ford Motor Company
10 Mention
Netflix
10 Mention
Amazon
9 Mention

NEW YORK NEWS

News from GlobalNY.biz is the freshest and most relevant information about high-profile events in the region. The task of the resource's news feed is to convey to readers with maximum accuracy and objectivity information about important events in business, politics, economy, healthcare, culture and other spheres of life in New York.
GlobalNY.biz news is a coverage of economic processes taking place in New York, the latest news of public life, incidents and an overview of political events. New York news is information about the activities of small and medium-sized businesses, the work of housing and communal services and utilities, the implementation of significant projects.
The site's journalists describe not only the life of the region, but also talk about the current state of the US economy. Everything you need to know about innovations in the field of industry and agriculture, economy and power is collected in the "News" section at GlobalNY.biz.
New York news quickly informs the reader, shows the real picture and opens up hot topics. Communication with government structures and business enables us to provide our readers with reliable, information-rich material. The main page of the portal contains the key news of New York!
Alena Potapova

Development Director
Population
8112873088
Died this year
14418122
Born this year
35471132