The Paris Bourse unscrews. It ended very sharply down 4.75% on Friday, November 26. A fall caused by the appearance of a new variant of Covid-19, which raises fears of new containment measures.
What we know about Omicron, the new variant detected in South Africa
The flagship CAC 40 index slipped 336.14 points to finish at 6,739.73 points, canceling all its gains since the beginning of the month. This is his worst session since March 18, 2020, when the first confinement was introduced in France. Over the week, the Parisian rating lost 5.24%.
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All stock markets plunge
Around the world, financial markets have bowed under the pressure of fears related to the appearance of a new variant, detected in South Africa.
European countries, which are already facing a fifth wave of Covid-19 contamination, are starting to take action and the European Union on Friday recommended member states to suspend flights to and from southern Africa.
“There was already a new wave of Covid-19 in Europe, which led some governments to take measures, and there this new variant could potentially add an additional dose of risk”, says Florian Allain, portfolio manager at Mandarine Gestion, to explain the scale of the movements of the day.
A variant that worries
Called Omicron, this variant has the potential for very rapid spread, according to scientists, who do not know at this stage whether the vaccines currently available are effective against it.
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Countries like the UK, France or the Netherlands, have banned flights from South Africa and five neighboring countries as of midday Friday, while a case has been identified in Belgium, on first in Europe.
Florian Allain observes “Exactly the same reactions as during the market downturn in February 2020 when we discovered the Covid-19”, and finds that stocks in the transportation, energy, insurance, and auto sectors are sold while stocks linked to consumer goods are doing better.
Tourism toast
The titles of the airline companies, already tested by the pandemic, drank the cup with the first travel restrictions. The aircraft manufacturer Airbus collapsed 11.49% to 99.36 euros, Air France KLM 9.67% to 3.77 euros and Aéroports de Paris 8.61% to 104 euros.
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More generally, the entire tourism sector has suffered. Accor lost 8.91% to 26.89 euros and Compagnie des Alpes 7.88% to 12.40 euros.
