Bloomberg
Stocks Drop on Virus Angst; Bonds, Dollar Rally: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks slumped around the world as a new variant of the coronavirus in the U.K. and a wave of lockdowns and travel restrictions damped investor spirits ahead of the Christmas holiday.The S&P 500 Index headed to its worst drop in almost eight weeks. Tesla Inc. fell as much as 6% on its first day after being added to the U.S. benchmark. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index slumped the most since October as Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and France closed their borders to the U.K. The yield on 10-year Treasuries retreated and the dollar climbed.Travel and leisure companies and other businesses most susceptible to extended lockdows were among the worst performers Monday. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., American Airlines Group Inc. and Carnival Corp. slid at least 3%.The pound slumped by the most since March amid the virus resurgence and as an official said “significant differences” remain in Britain’s trade talks with the European Union. Crude oil tumbled.Investors looked past news over the weekend that U.S. political leaders had agreed on a $900 billion pandemic relief bill, as the emergence of the variant coronavirus strain in Britain put a damper on the return-to-work trade that’s lately taken hold. After global equities reached a record last week, traders pulled back to monitor the latest virus news.“Fiscal stimulus is clearly fading as a catalyst, with Covid trends dictating the direction of markets,” said Emily Roland, the co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “Risk assets had been shrugging off worsening virus trends, but are now showing some signs of vulnerability – even with the backstop of additional stimulus.”Here are some key events coming up:EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.U.S. jobless claims, durables, personal income data comes Wednesday.U.S. bond and stock trading and markets in other parts of the world will shut early on Thursday for the Christmas holidays. Most global markets are shut Friday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe S&P 500 Index sank 1.7% as of 10:45 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped 2.7%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index dropped 1.1%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.6%.The euro decreased 0.4% to $1.2212.The British pound decreased 1.7% to $1.33.The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 103.54 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 0.93%.Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.59%.Britain’s 10-year yield decreased five basis points to 0.20%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude sank 3.9% to $47.20 a barrel.Gold was little changed at $1,882.02 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
