Monday’s session on Wall Street brought a rebound after Friday’s largest sell-off since the beginning of 2021. Moods in the markets have improved after preliminary information that the coronavirus omicron variant is unlikely to be making the disease more severe.
Dow Jones Industrial closed by 0.68 percent to 35,135.94 points.
The S&P 500 gained 1.32 percent at the end of the day. and amounted to 4.655.27 points.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.88 percent. and closed the session at 15,782.83 points.
A new variant of the coronavirus called Omikron is already present in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, according to reports from sanitary services in individual countries. Israel and Japan are closing their borders, other countries are introducing further restrictions on travel from South African countries.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that his administration has no plans to introduce new restrictions on the Omicron variant of the coronavirus yet. The arrival of a new strain of the virus in the country was “inevitable in fact,” he added.
In a speech to the White House on Monday, Biden said the emergence of the new variant was “cause for concern, but not panic,” and said vaccination would remain the main focus of the anti-virus strategy.
While he admitted that the new variant would reach the US is almost certain, he stressed that the aim of the travel restrictions introduced on Monday from eight African countries was to give Americans more time to get vaccinated or take an additional dose.
Experts say it is too early to say with certainty how serious the disease will be caused by this variant. Angelique Coetzee of the South African Medical Association rated Omikron-related symptoms at this point in time as “mild” compared to others she had treated in the past months.
“We’re all still in the dark and will need more data, but things seem a bit more promising than Friday,” said Mark Dowding, director of asset management, BlueBay.
“Looking to the future, the key question is how dangerous the new variant really is. Little is known at the moment. However, if vaccination against COVID-19 also works with this variant, markets should grow again at the end of the year. Otherwise, the situation will become more uncomfortable, “Berenberg analysts wrote in their report.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that Omikron poses “a very high global threat with potentially serious consequences.”
“Omikron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations with the potential to impact the further development of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the WHO, which reiterated its technical advice on UN member states to “accelerate vaccination efforts in high-priority groups” and “provide mitigation plans the effects of the pandemic “.
From companies, Twitter grew by 3.5 percent. CNBC said on Monday, citing sources that company CEO Jack Dorsey is due to step down from his position.
Dorsey is currently both the CEO of Twitter and Square, the digital payment company. It is not clear who will succeed Dorsey, nor is it clear when it will eventually be made public.
Moderna’s shares grew by 6.5 percent. after group boss Paul Burton told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that a vaccine for the new Covid-19 variant could be ready early next year.
Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings grew by 1%, and Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3%. as a result of a broader rebound in the tourism sector after Friday’s sale.
Merck was down 4.5 percent. after Citi downgraded its recommendation for the company’s stock to “neutral” from “buy”.
Chevron and Exxon Mobil grew by almost 1 percent. in view of the significant increase in crude oil prices in the world markets.
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