Stock markets and oil prices plunged Friday over fears of a new coronavirus variant that scientists warn could be more infectious than Delta and more resistant to vaccines, potentially dealing a heavy blow to the global economic recovery.Share prices of airlines and tourism groups dived as countries put in new travel restrictions, while there were big losses also for energy groups.
Europe's main equity markets were down at least three percent approaching the half-way mark following sharp falls in Asia."It's a scary headline" about the virus, so it may have caused a knee-jerk reaction, said Kyle Rodda at IG Markets. It added that it would take "a few weeks" for researchers to understand the impact of the variant detected in South Africa.
"We expect more data from the laboratory tests in two weeks at the latest. These data will provide more information about whether B.1.1.529 could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally," a BioNTech spokesperson said.Traders were keeping a wary eye also on the Federal Reserve as the US central bank considers its next moves to fight soaring global inflation, which is an additional threat to economic recovery.