[이코노믹리뷰=노성인 기자] New York stocks fell on fears of the new coronavirus mutant Omicron and the Fed’s hawkish remarks.
On the 30th (local time) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,483.33, down 652.61 points (1.86%) from the previous day. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 88.29 points (1.90%) to 4,566.98, and the Nasdaq Index fell 245.14 points (1.55%) to close at 15,537.69, down 88.29 points (1.90%) from the previous trading day.
Investor sentiment worsened on the day on concerns over the spread of Omicron and the early tightening of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) by Jerome Powell.
The stock market, reassured by President Joe Biden’s remarks that “there is no lockdown” the day before, fell on the same day as Pfizer and Moderna mentioned that existing vaccines are likely to be less effective at preventing omicron mutations.
“Existing vaccines will not have the same effect as the delta mutation on Omicron,” Moderna CEO Stefan Bansel said on the same day.
It was also shocking that Chairman Powell said it was time to stop calling inflation a ‘temporary’.
“Inflationary pressures are higher at this point,” Powell said at the Senate Financial Committee hearing. Therefore, I think we need to discuss whether it is appropriate to end the reduction in asset purchases a few months earlier,” he said.
Inflation concerns have grown recently, with the US consumer price index rising 6.2% from the same month a year earlier in October. In addition to this, volatility caused by Omicron mutation also puts a burden on the stock market, suggesting that the tapering period will be accelerated.
Consumer sentiment deteriorated as the US Consumer Confidence Index in November fell below both expectations and the previous month. The Conference Board announced that the consumer confidence index for November was 109.5. This is slightly below the Economist’s estimate of 110.0 compiled by the Wall Street Journal.
Most of the sectors fell on the same day, with communications (-3.0%), utilities (-2.9%), and consumer staples (-2.7%) the biggest drop, followed by IT (-1.0%), consumer discretionary (-1.4%), Healthcare (-1.9%) also fell.
By stock, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines fell 0.11% and 0.28%, respectively, and hotel chain Marriott International (MAR) shares fell 2.13%.
Moderna’s stock plunged 4.36% from the battlefield, while Novavax’s rose 7.56%.
Apple is up 3.15% on news of strong iPhone 13 sales in China. Tesla also closed 0.68% higher. On the other hand, Meta fell 4.02% and Netflix closed down 3.31%.
“The market, shaken by concerns about the Omicron mutation, is again shocked by Powell’s comments,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wells.
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