[Europe Opening] Unified Decline Amid 'New Variant' Emergence... Euro Stoxx Down 4.15%

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] On the 26th (local time), major European stock markets showed a simultaneous decline in early trading following news of a new COVID-19 variant that could be more powerful than the Delta variant.

On this day, the Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 4.15% from the previous close, trading at 4115.09. The UK FTSE 100 index fell 3.41% to the 7061 level, and the French CAC 40 index dropped 4.40% to the 6764 level. The German DAX index also recorded a 3.58% decline compared to the previous close.

This downward trend is analyzed as a result of frozen investor sentiment following the confirmation of a new variant called ‘Nu (B.1.1.529)’ in South Africa. On the same day, major Asian stock markets including South Korea, Japan, and China also closed lower.

The UK Health Security Agency previously stated that "the new variant has a spike protein dramatically different from the existing virus, and the number of mutations is twice that of the Delta variant." In particular, there is analysis suggesting that it could neutralize both natural immunity acquired from previous infections and immune responses generated by existing vaccinations. The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened an emergency meeting.