Global shares drifted significantly lower at the start of the week as market sentiment is weighed down by renewed virus fears after a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 emerged in the UK. This new variant, far more easily transmittable than previous strains, has had an immediate negative impact on riskier assets around the globe, even offsetting the recent reassuring news on both vaccine deployments and economic stimulus packages. Unsurprisingly, Travel & Leisure as well as Energy shares lead declines in Europe today, as traders move to hedge portfolios by increasing exposures in safe havens such as gold and silver.
The trend may continue further today as no major data release or news is expected by investors, and most are likely to wait for evidence that current vaccines will still work against this new variant before going back to stocks again.
