Late in the day the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the country had detected its first case of the omicron variant, which had infected a person coming from South Africa, where the variant was initially discovered.
Before wednesday, Powell said policymakers at the Federal Reserve should be prepared to respond to the possibility that inflation will not decline in the second half of next year., as expected.
Wall Street had fallen on Tuesday after Powell surprised the market by noting that the central bank would consider accelerating the withdrawal of its bond buying program at its December meeting because of accelerating inflation.
“The market is grappling with the dual concerns of the omicron variant, which may or may not be able to evade the vaccine, and a more aggressive than expected Powell,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for the Independent Advisor Alliance.
Wall Street suffered a sharp drop on Friday, when it became known of the existence of the omicron variant, while health authorities affirmed that they have not yet ascertained its transmissibility or dangerousness, nor the protection that existing vaccines can offer.
On Monday, the market rallied as investors scrambled for bargains after the slide, only to decline again on Tuesday on Powell’s comments.
“We tried to buy with the fall again (Wednesday), but the news that omicron is already here has taken some of the wind out of the optimists’ sails,” Zaccarelli said.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 54.09 points, or 1.22%, to finish at 4,511.14 points, while the Nasdaq lost 291.76 points, or 1.88%, at 15,244.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 476.74 points, or 1.38%, to 34,014.22 points.
While the top 11 S&P sectors were gaining in the early afternoon, most fell towards the end of the session. The communications services sector was the one that fell the most.
Source From: Ambito
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