Concerns about the Covid-19 epidemic returned to the top of the concerns of global markets, which were in the red on Friday, after restrictive measures taken in Austria and Germany.
Europe ended in decline: Paris lost 0.42%, London 0.45%, Frankfurt 0.38% and Milan 1.17%.
On Wall Street, around 5:55 p.m., the Dow Jones lost 0.41%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.48% and the S&P 500 0.19%.
The House of Representatives' adoption of President Joe Biden's massive social reform plan, a crucial milestone victory before Senate scrutiny, was not enough to sustain the market.
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Andreas Lipkow, analyst at Comdirect, notes that "
it is very clearly the fears of a deterioration of the situation linked to Covid-19
" that have resurfaced on the stock markets. Austria announced a re-containment of its entire population on Monday, becoming the first EU country to take such a step in the face of the resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
Germany has imposed severe restrictions on the unvaccinated, who will no longer be able to access public places nationwide.
And the region of Bavaria has canceled all Christmas markets.
Pierre Bismuth, Managing Director of Myria AM, for his part notes a
measured
“
breathing
” of the markets, which “
digest news that goes against the grain of what was expected
”.
Read also The Paris Bourse fell 0.42% in the face of the resurgence of the pandemic
The fears related to the pandemic were mainly felt on bond yields which fell sharply, as investors rushed to less risky assets such as bonds.
The ten-year US debt interest rate fell 0.06 percentage point to 1.53%.
And in Europe, short-term borrowing rates have "
rarely been so low
" according to Mr. Bismuth, showing a decline in central bank rate hike expectations by investors.
The volatility of the session is also exacerbated by the “
three witches
”, namely the expiration of several contracts and options on the indices, which generates strong trading volumes.
On the side of values
Travel plagued by restrictions:
The travel sector, usually the most affected by the economic consequences of health restrictions, was clearly declining after the Austrian decision.
In Paris, Air France-KLM lost 1.15%, Airbus 3.41% and Accor 3.26%.
In London, IAG (British Airways and Iberia) fell by 3.77% and Easyjet by 2.70%.
In Dublin, Ryanair dropped 2.03% and also announced the withdrawal in December of its title from the London Stock Exchange.
In New York, airlines were also displayed in red, and the world's number one cruise ship Carnival was down 2.29%.
Health benefits:
Conversely, health values fared better: in Paris, the French giant of analysis laboratories Eurofins Scientific, whose growth was driven by the explosion of anti-Covid tests , gained 2.15% and Sanofi 0.71%.
In New York, Pfizer was up 0.34%, BioNTech by 4.32% and Moderna by 5%, after the green light given by the American health authorities to a third dose of the anti-Covid vaccine for all fully vaccinated adults it at least six months ago.
Canadian health authorities have also authorized the anti-Covid Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.
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On the oil, euro and bitcoin side:
News on the epidemic front caused oil prices to fall: around 5:50 p.m. the price of a US barrel of WTI for December delivery fell 3.02% to 78.79 dollars and that of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in January yielded 3.81% to 76 dollars.
The euro fell 0.61% against the greenback at 1.1302 dollars.
The ultimate safe haven, the Swiss franc has returned to its highest levels since 2015, at 0.9538 euro (+ 0.40% compared to Thursday's close).
Bitcoin was up 1.03% to $ 58,190, almost $ 10,000 from its level at the start of the week.
