EFE.- Panic gripped stocks on Friday, which collapsed with sharp falls due to investors’ fear of the new variant of the coronavirus designated as Ómicron.
All European markets posted significant drops: 3.86% in Madrid, 3.21% in Paris, 2.93% in Milan, 2.58% in London and 2.57% in Frankfurt.
In the case of the Euro Stoxx 50, which groups together the main European companies, the fall was 2.88%.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed today with a 2.53% fall in its main indicator, the Nikkei, due to fears about the new variant of Covid-19 detected in South Africa – baptized as Ómicron – and the global rate of infections , along with a strengthening of the yen.
The benchmark index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Hang Seng, posted losses of 2.67% today on a day of widespread and steep losses, particularly among Chinese digital giants and casino operators.
The Seoul Stock Exchange fell today and its main indicator, the Kospi, lost 1.47% due to the concern generated in the trading floor by the volume of infections in Europe and at the domestic level and the discovery of a new variant.
Also the stock markets of Southeast Asia closed this Friday with sharp falls dragged by the fears generated by the new variant of the coronavirus detected in southern Africa.
In Singapore, the city-state stock market fell 55.25 points, 1.72%; in Indonesia, the Jakarta stock fell 137.79 whole, 2.06%; in Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange lost 5.38 points, 0.35%; in Thailand, the stock market in Bangkok fell 37.85 points, 2.3%.
Likewise, in the Philippines, the Manila Stock Exchange fell 90.83 points, 1.23%, and in Vietnam, the VN index of the Ho Chi Minh market (the former Saigon) lost 0.52%.
For its part, Wall Street closed this Friday tinted red, with a significant decline in its main reference index, the Dow Jones Industrials, which fell 2.53% in its worst decline of the year.
Likewise, the price of a barrel of Brent oil for delivery in January plummeted 12.46% this Friday on the London futures market, to $ 72.72, given the fear that the eventual expansion of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus slows the economic recovery.
North Sea crude, a benchmark in Europe, ended the day on the International Exchange Futures with a decline of $ 10.25 compared to the last trade, when it closed at $ 82.25.
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