Markets reverse on more Omicron news
On Wednesday morning, stocks bounced 1.5% off Tuesday’s sharp sell-off, then sank in the afternoon upon news of the first Omicron case reaching the U.S. The Dow swung 1,000 points for the session before losing 1.34%. Similarly, the S&P closed -1.18% and the Nasdaq -1.83%.
The losses weren’t as sharp as Black Friday or Tuesday, but many names touched 52-week lows, such as Mastercard which sank 2.74%. AMD closed -5.88%, tech darling Tesla -4.35%, and even lockdown winner Walmart finished -2.48%. Unsurprisingly, travel and leisure stocks got hit hard with American Airlines and Royal Caribbean both sinking around 8%. Moderna was hammered for 11.87% while Penn National lost 6.58%. Gainers were few and far between, and included Applied Materials up 3%, Lennar at 3.35% and Lam Research by 2%.
The TSX’s suffered fewer losses as the Canadian index shed 0.95%. Financials and telcos offered modest gains. The big banks report this week and Royal disappointed by missing earnings though raised its dividend and announced a share buyback. RY shares retreated 0.44%. Similarly, National Bank missed earnings and raised dividends, but sank 3.46%. In contrast, Scotiabank rallied 3.42% and TD rose 2% ahead of earnings. Other winners included Western Forest Products which jumped 8.28%, Martinrea climbed 4.16% and Interfor rose 3.48%. However, Bombardier went into a 10.4% tailspin, Air Canada dove 3.17% while Baytex sank 3.26%. They weren’t helped by crude oil losing 1-1.5% to $65 a barrel for WTI and $47 for WCS. Gold was flat and Bitcoin retraced 1.3% to around $57,000. Clarity over Omicron should come in the next two weeks as scientists investigate the latest variant.
💳 Mastercard Inc. (MA-N) -2.74%
💾 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q) -5.88%
🚗 Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA-Q) -4.35%
🛒 Walmart Inc (WMT-N) -2.48%
🛫 American Airlines Group (AAL-Q) -8%
🚢 Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL-N) -8%
💉 Moderna (MRNA-Q) -11.87%
♠ Penn National Gaming Inc (PENN-Q) -6.58%
🧬 Applied Materials (AMAT-Q) +3%
🏛 Lennar Corp. (LEN-N) +3.35%
🧬 Lam Research Corp (LRCX-Q) +2%
🏛 Royal Bank (RY-T) -0.44%
🏛 National Bank of Canada (NA-T) -3.46%
🏛 Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS-T) +3.42%
🏛 Toronto Dominion (TD-T) +2%
🌲 Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF-T) +8.28%
🚘 Martinrea (MRE-T) +4.16%
🌲 Interfor Corp (IFP-T) +3.48%
🚂 Bombardier Inc (B) (BBD.B-T) -10-4%
🛫 Air Canada (AC-T) -3.17%
🛢 Baytex Energy Corp (BTE-T) -3.26%
🅱 Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO:BCH) -1.3%
