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Shares and oil prices are declining as new markets for Covid spooks

Oil prices and prices plummeted on Friday as concerns for global investors mounted on the new Covid-19 model, prompting the UK to impose tougher sanctions on southern African countries.

The biggest equity sell-off was led by a benchmark of the Tokyo Topix index, which fell 2.4% on Friday after UK bans direct flights from six countries including South Africa until private hotels had become operational.

Future futures caused US stocks to fall by 1 percent while markets opened on Wall Street later in the day, while London’s FTSE 100 and Stoxx 50 European indexes both expected to drop by about 2 percent.

In Hong Kong, where two separate cases have been confirmed, the Hang Seng index dropped to 2.2% amid concerns that the crisis could delay the global economic recovery and exclude the Asian economic center, which has one of the largest economies. the world’s most complex social security systems.

“I look in my window today and there is nothing green – all is red,” said Andy Maynard, a Hong Kong-based retailer at China Renaissance. “It’s all in this Covid’s tail.”

Travel shares were among the worst-hit, with Japan Airlines dropping to 6.6 percent and Hong Kong flag bearer Cathay Pacific lost 3.6% over concerns over increased international sanctions.

The genus B.1.1.529 Sars-Cov-2, first identified in Botswana, is believed to have contributed to the spread of Covid in southern Africa last week. they avoid vaccination and spread faster than the Delta species.

Israel has also banned travelers from South Africa, and the World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the issue, which has been described as a “very difficult one” for researchers.

In monetary terms, the new travel restrictions caused the South African rand to depreciate by 1.7 per cent to about R16 against the dollar, making the currency weaker over the past year as the country faces the prospect of ruining the tourist season this year.

Other currencies coming in, including the Mexican peso and the Turkish lira, fell almost immediately.

In the stock market, concerns over global trade volatility affected oil prices, while Brent global oil prices fell by 2.3% to $ 80.34 a barrel. US marker West Texas Intermediate fell 2.9% to $ 76.14.


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