US Stock Market and Bitcoin Recovers Following Omicron Scares – The Tokenist

the discovery A new variant of Covid considered more transferable than other variants spread fear in the markets on Friday, resulting in a strong sell-off. However, over the weekend it was revealed that the initial investigation found the variant to be relatively mild in severity, leading markets to rally somewhat.

In particular, US Treasury yields rose Monday morning, as did Dow Jones futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq futures rose solidly, suggesting that traders are expecting an upturn is coming.

Omicron Sparks Blocking Concerns

Omicron, the new variant of Covid, was first detected in Botswana, a country in southern Africa. However, it has been spreading rapidly, with cases found in European countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy, and Belgium. This sparked a strong reaction around the world when countries announced new travel restrictions.

While not much is known about Omicron, it was initially speculated that it could be more transmissible and avoid the immunity afforded by vaccines. The main concern for now is that Omicron may already have spread widely to other countries. Speaking on this, Andrew Pekosz, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said:

“There has been a window of probably about two weeks conservatively that this virus has been spreading. Certainly there is a possibility that it has already spread globally, but we don't know yet. "

Meanwhile, South African doctors have indicated that the symptoms of the Omicron variant have been mild so far. Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private physician and president of the South African Medical Association, told Reuters that they have been able to treat patients at home.

"The majority of them [patients infected with Omicron] they're seeing very, very mild symptoms and none of them so far have admitted patients to surgeries. We have been able to treat these patients conservatively at home. "

This was a great relief to investors who were selling their assets for fear of a new lockdown. Consequently, markets started green on Monday, as Omicron's initial concerns have eased.

Investors Expect Market Rebound After Omicron Liquidation

On Friday, news of the new variant wiped out roughly $ 2 trillion from the value of global stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed by more than 905 points, or 2.53%, marking their worst day of the year.

Similarly, the S&P 500 lost 2.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.23%. At its lowest point, the Dow Jones was down more than 1,000 points. The yield on 10-year Treasuries in the US also saw a major drop, dropping by about 10%.

However, the market began to recover early Monday. Dow Jones futures were up 0.7% against fair value, while S&P 500 futures soared 0.9% and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.15%. Similarly, the 10-year Treasury yield soared five basis points to 1.54%, suggesting that markets are in good shape for a rally.

European stocks rose more than 1% on Monday, while US equity futures marked a firm open. Oil prices have gained about 5%, reaching $ 76 a barrel.

Crypto markets rebound too

The cryptocurrency market is also in the green on Monday after a moderate selloff on Friday. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, have gained more than 5% in the last 24 hours, recouping all of their recent losses. Other crypto assets have recovered mainly between 2% and 6%.

In particular, Microstrategy and Nayib Bukele have seized the opportunity and "bought the fall." Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor announced today that his company has acquired around 414 million Bitcoin at an average price of $ 59,187 per coin.