Dow logs worst day in over a year as fears over new Covid-19 variant grip global markets
New York (CNN Business)Wall Street was in a frenzy on Black Friday as stocks around the world tumbled in the face of a new Covid-19 variant.
US equities took a dive at the open and continued their downward path, resulting in a terrible day for the stock market and the worst day for the Dow in over a year. Oil prices were also badly hit.
The new variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel, prompting some countries to put flight bans in place.
Over the summer, the Delta variant spooked consumers and weighed on sectors like leisure and hospitality. Now investors and economists worry this new variant could do the same.
The Dow (INDU) logged its worst performance since October 2020, falling 905 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 (SPX) had its worst day since February, closing down 2.3%. For the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) it was the worst day since September. The index finished down 2.2%.
It was a shortened trading session that ended at 1pm ET after the markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Traditionally, this half-day session is lower in trading volume, which can exacerbate the swings in the market.
"The pandemic and COVID variants remain one of the biggest risks to markets, and are likely to continue to inject volatility over the next year" or even beyond, said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer and chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services, in a note to clients.
"It's hard to say at this point how lasting or impactful this latest variant will be for markets," he added.
It might take days or weeks to assess the severity of the new variant, so Friday's sell-off might not be an immediate opportunity to pick stocks up on the cheap, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
But not all stocks took a beating. Within the S&P 500, healthcare stocks climbed, led by Covid vaccine manufacturers Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE). Moderna shares closed up more than 20%, while Pfizer stock rose more than 6%.
Outside of equities, other asset classes also struggled Friday.
Oil prices tumbled, for example. US oil futures fell more than 12%, or almost $10, to $68.82 per barrel around the time of the stock market close. The global benchmark Brent dropped more than 10% to $73.66 per barrel.
The US dollar, measured by the ICE US Dollar Index, which pegs it against its main rivals, was down 0.6% when stocks closed.
Cryptocurrencies also felt the heat, dropping across the board. Bitcoin was down more than 8% in the early afternoon, according to CoinDesk data.
Meanwhile, investors are pushing into safe haven investments. The 10-year US Treasury bond got more expensive and yields fell by more than 0.1 percentage points to 1.51% around the stock market close. Gold prices also jumped.
由于对新 Covid-19 变体的担忧席卷全球市场，道琼斯指数录得一年多来最糟糕的一天
纽约 (CNN Business) 华尔街在黑色星期五处于疯狂状态，因为面对新的 Covid-19 变种，全球股市暴跌。
美国股市开盘跳水并继续下跌，导致股市糟糕的一天和道琼斯指数一年多以来最糟糕的一天。油价也受到重创。
这种新变种已在南非、博茨瓦纳、香港和以色列被发现，促使一些国家实施飞行禁令。
整个夏天，Delta 的变体吓坏了消费者，并给休闲和酒店等行业带来了压力。现在，投资者和经济学家担心这种新的变体可能也会这样做。
道指 (INDU) 录得 2020 年 10 月以来最差表现，下跌 905 点，或 2.5%。标准普尔 500 指数 (SPX) 经历了自 2 月以来最糟糕的一天，收盘下跌 2.3%。对于纳斯达克综合指数 (COMP) 而言，这是自 9 月以来最糟糕的一天。该指数收跌 2.2%。
这是一个缩短的交易时段，在周四感恩节市场休市后于美国东部时间下午 1 点结束。传统上，这半天的交易量较低，这可能会加剧市场的波动。
Truist 咨询服务公司联席首席投资官兼首席市场策略师基思勒纳表示：“大流行和 COVID 变种仍然是市场面临的最大风险之一，并且可能会在明年甚至更长时间内继续注入波动性”，在给客户的说明中。
他补充说：“目前还很难说这种最新版本对市场的持久性或影响力有多大。”
CFRA Research 首席投资策略师 Sam Stovall 表示，评估新变种的严重程度可能需要数天或数周的时间，因此周五的抛售可能不是立即买入低价股票的机会。
但并非所有股票都受到打击。在标准普尔 500 指数中，医疗保健股攀升，由 Covid 疫苗制造商 Moderna (MRNA) 和辉瑞 (PFE) 领涨。 Moderna 股价收盘上涨超过 20%，而辉瑞股价上涨超过 6%。
除股票外，其他资产类别周五也表现不佳。
例如，油价暴跌。在股市收盘时，美国石油期货下跌超过 12%，即近 10 美元，至每桶 68.82 美元。全球基准布伦特原油下跌超过 10%，至每桶 73.66 美元。
以与主要竞争对手挂钩的 ICE 美元指数衡量的美元在股市收盘时下跌了 0.6%。
加密货币也感受到了热度，全面下跌。根据 CoinDesk 的数据，比特币在下午早些时候下跌了 8% 以上。
与此同时，投资者正在推动避险投资。 10 年期美国国债价格上涨，收益率在股市收盘时下跌超过 0.1 个百分点至 1.51%。黄金价格也上涨。
