News24
19 Nov 2020, 20:12 GMT+10
Stocks mostly retreated Thursday as a global rally fuelled by vaccine optimism petered out owing to the brutal reality of surging infections that are forcing fresh lockdowns and threatening to shock the global economy again.
While the broad consensus is that 2021 will see a healthy recovery across the world as people are gradually inoculated, traders are focusing on the immediate crisis as the US and Europe suffer a new wave of the killer disease.
"After the soaraway gains of the past two weeks, equities now look much more richly-valued, and thus vulnerable to an outbreak of bad news," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG trading group.
"This is precisely what we got in the form of spreading infections in the US but also in Japan, a worrying sign indeed for a country that had been successful earlier in the year in controlling the spread.
"Even reports of success for AstraZeneca's new vaccine were not enough - the impact of these vaccine announcements having been on a declining trend since the first, excitedly-received news from Pfizer almost three weeks ago," Beauchamp added.
World markets have enjoyed an impressive run in November thanks to Joe Biden's US election victory and then news that two vaccine candidates had shown to be more than 90 percent effective in late trials.
The announcements lifted hopes that the planet can begin to get back to some form of normality soon.
However, Wall Street took a decisive turn lower in late trade Wednesday when New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would shut schools because of rising infections.
The move indicated that the soaring number of new cases around the US - the country has registered more than 100 000 every day for two weeks - could force lockdowns similar to those that battered the economy earlier this year.
Key European economies including France, Germany and Britain have already imposed new or partial lockdowns, while other countries around the world including Japan and South Korea have been forced to take new containment action.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday called for the EU's planned coronavirus recovery fund to become available "without delay", after Poland and Hungary blocked the adoption of the plan.
The appeal came ahead of a videoconference by EU leaders set to be dominated by the budget row, which threatens to hold up the unlocking of badly needed stimulus to cushion the economic hit from the pandemic.
It comes as Washington has yet to agree on a massive new stimulus package for the United States.
Get a daily dose of Kolkata Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kolkata Sun.
More InformationCONCORD, New Hampshire: A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a crucial ruling on July 10 against President Donald Trump's executive...
DUBAI, U.A.E.: A cargo ship flagged under Liberia, known as the Eternity C, sank in the Red Sea following an attack executed by Yemen's...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has started sending some weapons to Ukraine again, just a week after the Pentagon told officials...
ECAULT BEACH, France: On clear days, the white cliffs of the United Kingdom, are visible from northern France, where men, women, and...
ATLANTA, Georgia: The United States is facing its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with 1,288 confirmed cases so...
In the past month alone, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza—three more than the number of remaining living hostages held...
NEW DELHI, India: India has submitted a revised proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva to implement retaliatory tariffs...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated eminent public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam for his...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 13 (ANI): President of the Federation of Indian Pilots, Charanvir Singh Randhawa, on Sunday raised...