"Virus back on the stock exchange": Corona variant scares Wall Street

"Virus back on the stock exchange"
Corona variant scares Wall Street

The negative news from Great Britain is also disturbing investors in the USA. The highly contagious Corona mutation almost steals the show from the US Congress’s billion dollar stimulus package. Only at the end does relief regain the upper hand.

Fear of the coronavirus variant discovered in the UK has spoiled investors in the US. The Dow Jones-Index of the default values ​​closed a moderate 0.1 percent higher to 30,216 points. The technology-heavy one Nasdaq on the other hand, fell 0.1 percent to 12,742 points. The broad one S&P 500 lost 0.4 percent to 3694 points. Many investors cashed in after the recent record highs: "Profit-taking plays a role," said Robert Pavlik, portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, and added: "People are getting nervous about the new variant." The agreement between the Republicans and Democrats on a new Corona aid package took a back seat in this context.

According to the results of the latest stress test by the US Federal Reserve, investors turned to stocks in the major US banks. The papers of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley gained up to 6.1 percent. The Federal Reserve said on Friday that it saw "strong capital levels" in the banks. These would have sufficient funds to cope with losses totaling 600 billion dollars in the context of a short, severe recession or a moderate, longer-lasting economic slowdown. At the same time, the Fed gave the green light for a limited distribution of dividends or for share buybacks.

Tesla
Tesla 533.40

On the first day in the S&P 500, the shares of Tesla more than six percent after. According to calculations by the S&P Dow Jones index analyst Howard Silverblatt, Tesla will in future have a 1.69 percent share in the S&P. The electric car maker is the most valuable company ever to be included in one of the major indices and is replacing the real estate company Apartment Investment and Management. Tesla shares have gained a good two-thirds in value since S&P announced that it would be included in the major US index.

High losses at Dax and EuroStoxx

The shares of Apple gained 1.2 percent. According to insiders, the company is aiming for the introduction of an autonomous passenger vehicle in 2024, which could contain a breakthrough in battery technology. Parts of the car are likely to come from suppliers, said two people familiar with the matter to the Reuters news agency. This includes the lidar sensors that the car uses to get an idea of ​​its surroundings. With a surcharge of almost five percent, the shares were from Nike asked. The Adidas-Competitors had previously raised their sales forecast for the full year.

The UK lockdown over fears of a more contagious coronavirus mutation brought the European stock market to its knees at the beginning of the week. Investors kept their money safe in dollars and bonds. Dax and EuroStoxx50 lost 2.8 percent and 2.7 percent to 13,246.3 and 3,450.7 points, respectively, and posted their biggest daily minus for around two months. The corona virus is back on the stock exchanges, said Thomas Altmann, portfolio manager at asset management company QC Partners. "An even more contagious variant makes even harder and even longer lockdowns much more likely. This mutation thus has the potential to increase the already great economic damage even further."

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