Monday 29 November 2021
US stock exchanges start recovery
Moderna and Biontech very firmly
After the price losses on Friday, US investors were on the lookout for favorable buying opportunities at the start of the week. Until more precise findings on the Omikron variant are known, however, restraint is likely to continue to determine what is happening. Aviation stocks are skeptical.
After the price slump on “Black Friday”, the indices on Wall Street recovered at the beginning of the week. But despite initial reassuring statements about the new Omikron variant of the coronavirus, worries remained about renewed global restrictions with the known negative consequences for the economy. “On Friday we saw panic selling,” said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
Since then, the actors have had time to look at the situation with a little more calm; also, on Friday, thinner trading after the Thanksgiving holiday may have skewed price action. “We all know how quickly the wind can change in a situation like this,” said the expert in view of a number of unanswered questions about the new virus variant.
Of the Dow Jones Index rose by 0.7 percent 35,136 points, the S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite improved 1.9 percent. There were 1,859 (Friday: 469) course winners and 1,534 (2,857) losers. 99 (06) titles closed unchanged. On Friday the indices were buckled by up to 2.5 percent. Because of the various Omikron imponderables, technology stocks outperformed the broader market after they were considered investors’ favorites during the peak of the pandemic. For the shares of Amazon, Apple and the Google parent Alphabet it went up between 1.6 and 2.4 percent.
Skepticism about the Corona variant remains
Until more precise findings on the Omikron variant are known, restraint is likely to continue to determine what is happening. Initially, however, the first expert statements provided confidence that the existing vaccines should also work against the new mutant. In addition, there were reports that the new variant may be very contagious, but the course of the disease is rather mild. The skepticism was evident in the shares of the aviation companies, which, after initially making slight gains, slipped back into negative territory. They buckled by up to 10 percent on Friday with concerns about far-reaching travel restrictions. Delta Airlines and American Airlines Group lost another 0.4 and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Returns and oil prices with recovery
Those recovering by up to a good 2 percent from their around 10 percent losses Oil prices showed that the actors initially no longer assess the threat posed by the new virus variant as dramatically and view the discounts on Friday as exaggerated. But in the course of time it had already increased by around 6 percent. Here, too, there were still concerns that another worsening pandemic situation could have a negative impact on demand.
Some support for the stock market came from the interest rate side, as bond yields have slipped significantly with the new development. Fixed income benefited from their reputation as a safe haven. In addition, the newly emerged virus could ensure that the US Federal Reserve rowed back in its tightening process because of concerns about the economy. After declining 16 basis points in the ten-year yield on Friday, it was up 4.3 basis points.
Of the Gold price showed up with levies and remained below the $ 1,800 mark for the fourth trading day in a row. The big question is “central bank interest rate outlook for the next year” in light of the new Omikron variant, said Chintan Karnani, senior analyst at Insignia Consultants. The dollar made up some of Friday’s losses. The dollar index rose 0.2 percent.
Vaccine developers continue strong upward
Vaccine manufacturers like Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna meanwhile fueled hope of being able to make more precise statements in about two weeks and possibly being able to offer more suitable vaccines quickly. Moderna soared by a further 11.8 percent. The biotech company wants to “rapidly advance” an Omikron-specific Covid-19 booster vaccine candidate. Biontech gained 4.2 percent. The shares of Pfizer (-3.0%) and Novavax (-11.0%), however, fell significantly.
Merck & Co lost 5.4 percent. Here expressed that the Covid-19 drug Molnupiravir developed by the pharmaceutical company and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics only lowers the risk of hospitalization or death by 30 and not 50 percent in a final evaluation.
Twitter with CEO departure in focus
For the Twitter share it went down after interim gains by 2.7 percent. Jack Dorsey resigns as CEO. He had co-founded and led the company since returning to the top in 2015. The stock has been suspended from trading after it rose on a CNBC report of Dorsey’s exit. The Hertz share gained 6.0 percent. The car rental company plans to buy back shares valued at up to $ 2 billion.