Major European stock exchanges failed to follow Tuesday’s uptrend and ended today’s session with losses, with investors making cautious moves despite the positive developments regarding the new Omicron strain of the coronavirus.
In particular, today the companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced the results of an “initial laboratory study” which showed that their covid-19 vaccine neutralizes the Omicron mutation after three or two doses and the booster.
Blood plasma from people who received two doses of the vaccine had a 25-fold reduction in levels of anti-micron neutralizing antibodies compared to the original strain of the virus, the two companies said. The booster dose of the vaccine increases the antibodies, offering similar levels of protection as the two doses in the original virus strain and other variants.
“While both doses of the vaccine continue to provide protection against severe disease from the micron strain, it is clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved by a third dose of the vaccine,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
The two companies also estimated that they will be able to have ready for delivery a version of their vaccine for the Omicron mutation by March 2022.
The conclusions of Pfizer and BioNTech broadly confirmed the preliminary study by the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa. The institute’s researchers announced yesterday that Omicron may partially escape the protection offered by the two doses of the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine, adding that a third dose is likely to help treat the highly mutated strain.
Despite the positive news, today’s meeting in Europe was volatile with the pan-European index Stoxx 600 to decline by 0.59% to 477.36 points, with the retail sector recording the largest losses with a fall of 1.9%.
In the individual dashboard, the German DAX lost 0.8% to 15,687.09 points, the French CAC 40 recorded a drop of 0.72% to 7,014.57 points and the FTSE 100 recorded marginal losses at 7,337.35 points.
On the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB slipped 1.42% to 26,751.93 points and the Spaniard IBEX 35 lost 0.95% to 8,478.40 points.
In the individual shares, the Swedish online gambling company Evolution Gaming added more than 7% and was at the top of the Stoxx 600. The British investment company Man Group strengthened by 2.6% after the announcement of the start of a repurchase program of up to $ 250 million.
In contrast, German meal delivery company Hellofresh fell almost 11% after losing its earnings forecast.
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I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
