Wall Street set to tumble at the open on new coronavirus strain concerns

6.30am: US stocks seen opening down

US stocks are expected to start lower as the market reopens from the Thanksgiving holiday to news of a rapidly-spreading new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) that may result in tougher global responses.  

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.12% in Friday pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index shed 1.62% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9%.

US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday ahead of the holiday.

The S&P closed 0.23% up at 4,701 and the Nasdaq finished at 15,845, a 0.44% gain. But the Dow Jones lost 0.03% to finish at 35,804 points.

“We now have a new Covid variant that’s ‘very’ different from the ones we knew so far, a rising inflation, and a market bubble,” commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. 

“So inevitably, the market mood is souring, as investors don’t know whether the equities could survive to another economic hit with less support from the central banks, as central banks would have to deal with a dual fight that’s intensifying on both fronts: inflation is rising, and Covid news are getting worrisome. 

“The only encouraging news is the easing oil prices, which could tame the inflationary pressures and give more time to the central banks before pulling back support.”

Story by ProactiveInvestors