Omicron variant and inflation concerns have given Wall Street a hard time
The first case of infection with the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in the USA and inflation concerns have given Wall Street a hard time. According to the CDC, a fully vaccinated person who returned from South Africa was found to have omicrons. After a largely steady course, the New York stock exchanges gave up in late trading. The standard value index Dow Jones closed on Wednesday 1.3 percent lower to 34,022 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq was down 1.8 percent to 15,254 points. The broad S&P 500 lost 1.2 percent to 4513 points.
In early trading, Wall Street had been buoyed by slightly better-than-expected
labor market data. According to the Federal Reserve (Fed), the US economy has recently grown at a moderate to moderate pace. The outlook for the near future remains positive overall in most Fed districts, announced the Fed in its "Beige Book".
In the economic report, which is based on economic contacts from the regions, the Fed also pointed out that delivery bottlenecks and a shortage of workers were causing price pressure. Prices have risen at a moderate to robust pace, with inflation occurring throughout the economy. Many of the twelve Fed districts have also reported difficulties with companies in filling positions, which has led to salary increases.
In terms of individual stocks, Salesforce stocks came under pressure. The SAP rival raised its full-year targets, but remained below market expectations, wrote analyst Brent Thill of the Jefferies investment bank. The problems with the subsidiary MuleSoft would certainly be solved quickly. Salesforce titles slipped nearly 12 percent.
Moderna papers also collapsed nearly 12 percent. The pharmaceutical company is threatened with lawsuit against rival Arbutus Biopharma for patent infringements in the manufacture of
coronavirus vaccines. Arbutus could collect up to a billion dollars in license fees annually, but the lion's share goes to its partner Genevant, calculated analyst Dennis Ding of the Jefferies investment bank. Against this background, the Arbutus rate doubled at times to $ 6.50. The titles of the Genevant dam Roivant jumped 34 percent.
Oil prices gave up their initial gains and turned into the red. The gold price benefited from its "safe haven" status and rose 0.3 percent to $ 1,779 a troy ounce.