New York Stock Market Recovers to Pre-Omicron Levels
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] As evaluations emerged that the Omicron COVID-19 variant is not severe, the Nasdaq index soared by 3% in the New York stock market. Major indices in the New York stock market showed strong upward momentum, recovering to levels before the Omicron outbreak.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said in an interview with AFP on the 7th (local time), while cautioning that it will take a few weeks to assess the severity of the Omicron variant, early signs suggest that the Omicron variant is not worse than Delta and may even be milder.
Director Fauci stated that although the transmissibility of Omicron is likely much stronger than Delta, regarding severity, "it is almost certainly not more serious than the Delta variant."
He explained, "There are even signs it could be less severe," adding, "because when looking at some clusters of confirmed cases being tracked in South Africa, the ratio of infected individuals to hospitalized patients appears lower than with Delta."
Regarding vaccine efficacy, he said that laboratory test results examining the effectiveness of antibodies formed by currently available vaccines against Omicron will be released within a few days to a week.
As concerns over the Omicron variant eased, major indices in the New York stock market all continued their sharp rise that day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%, the S&P 500 increased 2%, and the Nasdaq surged 3.2%. On this day, the Nasdaq's strength stood out, as its rebound was smaller compared to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Craig Erlam, chief analyst at OANDA, explained, "Only time will tell if investors are ahead of the curve, but as concerns over Omicron ease, buying is pouring in."
Compared to the sharp rise in the stock market, the increase in U.S. Treasury yields was limited. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose by 0.03 percentage points to 1.468% that day.
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