Stocks are falling as the new COVID-19 strain darkens the prospects for recovery

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian equities boosted losses on Tuesday, extending the pullback from last year’s multi-year highs hit by fears of a new highly infectious strain of COVID-19 that hit Britain could lead to a slower global economic recovery.

Sentiment continues to worsen, with FTSE futures down 0.14% and E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index up 0.29%, even as the US Congress approved a long-awaited coronavirus aid package on Monday. $ 892 billion.

The S & P / ASX 200 in Australia was 1.21% lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.77% in the afternoon session, reaching its lowest level in two weeks as investors took advantage of stellar gains in the past two months.

“Any sale will probably not find much resistance. The clients I talk to are more likely to make a profit than to raise more money, ”said John Milroy, an investment advisor at Ord Minnett, a Sydney stock broker.

The MSCI range of Asian Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.75%. The Hang Seng index continued to fall by 0.63%, and China’s CSI300 benchmark fell 0.35%.

“An escalation of European restrictions COVID-19 in response to fears of a new variant, which is supposed to spread faster, should and has, of course, provoked a negative reaction from prices through the short-term impact of growth. global market, ”said Stephen Innes, global market strategist at Axi.

“The illiquid conditions will persist until the end of the year, but declines like this could provide more of an opportunity to disappear than anything else,” he said.

Countries around the world closed their borders with Britain on Monday over fears of a new strain of coronavirus, which is said to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original, causing chaos in travel and raising the prospect of a shortage. a few days before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

The discovery of the new strain, just months before vaccines became widely available, renewed fears about the virus, which has killed about 1.7 million people worldwide. As a result, European stocks fell on Monday in the worst session in two months.

The pound fell by up 2.5% to $ 1.3190 due to virus problems. Compared to a basket of currencies, the dollar is heading for a third consecutive quarterly loss and is down 12.5% ​​from the three-year high in March.

Oil prices fell in line with expectations of lower demand, with US crude oil falling 0.34% recently to $ 47.63 a barrel, while Brent was 0.55% lower at $ 50.63.

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $ 1,878.15 per ounce, with the safe haven asset reaching a one-month high earlier in the session.