NEW YORK (awp international) – After a holiday break, the US stock exchanges are threatened with significant price losses due to the fear of a new corona variant in the shortened Friday trading. More than half an hour before the stock market start, the broker IG estimated the Dow Jones Industrial to be 2.31 percent in the red to 34,977 points – thus heading towards a weekly minus of almost 1.8 percent. The Nasdaq 100 forecast on Friday a minus of around one percent to 16,191 points. On Wednesday, the technology-heavy selection index held up only slightly better than the leading index.
Experts fear that variant B.1.1.529 is not only highly contagious due to an unusually large number of mutations, but could also penetrate the protective shield of the vaccines more easily. The PA news agency quoted an expert from the UK Healthcare Safety Authority as saying that B.1.1.529 was “the worst variant” seen so far. So far there have been few confirmed cases outside of southern Africa, including one in Belgium. Following the entry restrictions imposed by Great Britain and Israel on people from southern Africa, other countries announced similar measures.
The shares of the US oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil sagged in the wake of falling oil prices by around four percent. During the first corona wave in spring 2020, oil prices had plummeted. The decisive factor was the very extensive countermeasures such as the closure of many areas of economic life. New variants of the coronavirus awaken memories of this time and stir up fears of economic damage that would also weigh on the demand for energy and oil.
The shares of the Chinese driver service broker Didi listed in New York fell by 4.7 percent to 7.73 US dollars. Speculation about a possible withdrawal of Uber and Lyft competitors from the New York Stock Exchange is intensifying. Chinese regulatory authorities are said to have asked the company to present a plan for a so-called delisting, writes the Bloomberg news agency, citing people familiar with the matter. The supervisory authority responsible for data security justified these demands with security concerns. When the US IPO took place at the end of July, the Didi stocks had climbed to around 18 dollars – since then, with brief interruptions, things have only gone downhill.
The shares of the gene therapy specialist Ocugen lost almost 13 percent after the US drug authority FDA issued a so-called “clinical hold” for the tests of the Covid vaccine candidate Covaxin, which was developed with the Indian partner Bharat Biotech. The FDA takes this step, among other things, if it sees a risk to test subjects. Ocugen will now have to wait for further information from the FDA.
In contrast, the Biontech shares listed in New York jumped over nine percent, while Pfizer stocks rose by around six percent. On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the green light to approve the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer for children aged five and over. It will be the first corona vaccine to be approved in the EU for children under the age of twelve. Officially, the EU Commission now has to give its approval – but this is a formality. On Friday, Biontech also announced that they were looking at the new variant of the coronavirus found in southern Africa in tests and expected findings in two weeks at the latest. Shares in Biontech competitor Moderna rose by 13 percent in the pre-trading session ./gl/mis
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