Return to the ‘red’ for the European markets – ‘Dive’ 3.8% the technology sector

Concerns about the Omicron mutation dominating the world stock markets lost ground in Thursday’s session, after their uptrend yesterday, with the shares of technology companies recording significant losses.

Investment psychology remains vulnerable as the global scientific community struggles to assess how contagious and dangerous the new coronavirus’s Micron strain was first identified in South Africa. The world’s largest drug giants have warned that it will take a few weeks for them to adjust their production if they accept that the new mutation escapes the protection offered by their vaccines.

The World Health Organization says at least 23 countries have reported cases of Omicron, and says it expects “that number to rise” in the coming weeks. The new mutation came as European countries are already facing an outbreak of coronavirus outbreaks that has forced them to reinstate stricter restrictions, or even lockdowns in some cases, once again affecting economic activity.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has recorded a total of 79 confirmed cases of Homicron mutation in the EU, all so far either asymptomatic or mild.

In Germany, Europe’s strongest economy, The decision was taken today to impose tougher restraining measures on those who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 nationwide, in an effort to contain the 4th wave of the pandemic. In one of her last moves before handing over the reins of the country, Merkel, along with her Social Democrat successor, Soltz, and state leaders co-opted to block unvaccinated restaurants, theaters and other non-essential stores.

Merkel, Soltz and local prime ministers also approved a plan to make coronavirus vaccination mandatory, with the Bundestag, the lower house of the federal parliament, expected to vote on the issue soon.

The investment climate has also been strained by worries about rising inflation and the prospect of a faster-than-expected tightening of the Federal Reserve’s US monetary policy.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the Fed would discuss accelerating the cut in its bond-buying program at its December meeting.

In this climate, the pan-European index Stoxx 600 fell 1.15% to 465.44 points, with the tech industry plunging 3.8% after Apple warned its suppliers that demand was slowing down for the iPhone 13. It also came under strong pressure. the travel and leisure sector, which lost 2.6%, while since the beginning of the year it counts losses of 7%.

In the individual dashboard, the German DAX lost 1.35% to 15,263.11 points, the French CAC 40 fell 1.25% to 6,795.75 points, while the British FTSE 100 recorded a drop of 0.55% to 7,129.21 points.

In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB slipped 1.39% to 26,005.40 points, while the Spanish IBEX 35 fell 1.8% to 8,300.80 points.

In the individual shares, Vifor Pharma rallied 21%, following reports that Australian biotechnology giant CSL is in talks to acquire the Swiss group for about $ 10 billion.

On the other hand, the British food delivery company Deliveroo plunged 9.5% after the news that two executives, including CEO Will Shu, sold shares worth millions of pounds to settle their tax liabilities.

In corporate news, British asset management giant ABRDN has agreed to acquire the online investment platform Interactive Investor for 49 1.49 billion ($ 1.98 billion). ABRDN shares fell 3.8%.

In macro Today, the data released today by the European statistical office, Eurostat showed a decline in the unemployment rate in the Eurozone, to 7.3% in October from 7.4% in the previous month. The figures were in line with economists’ estimates.