Stocks Drop Globally Amid US Presidential Switch

It’s no secret that happenings in the US impact markets globally. Namely, the US is often one of the leading driving factors behind financial markets everywhere. Since the fact is well-known to investors, it’s no surprise that a major event, such as the inauguration of a new president, would cause a bit of chaos. Covid worries and questions about the upcoming stimulus seem to be the most important factors behind the moving markets. Because of that, US domestic markets have recorded a drop, but neighbors in Europe and Asia seem to be experiencing the same.

For example, the until recently record-breaking DOW had a drop of 238 points, which translates to 0.8%. The S&P 500 index moved in a near-identical fashion, dropping 26.75 points, which is 0.7% of its total value. Nasdaq-100 was the “winner” of the three major indexes, in that it decreased the least, 82.25 points or 0.6%. As such, Friday was quite a stressful time for many investors as they saw their portfolios lose some value.

Global markets have followed similar trends, as we already mentioned earlier in the article. Namely, major indexes in both Europe and Asia recorded steeper downward movement than the US’. Both Hang Seng and China’s CSI 300 depressed more than 1%, a quite significant daily drop for an index fund. As for Europe’s stocks, they lay somewhere in the middle between their two neighbors. Stoxx 600 Europe, the best indicator for European performance, showed a drop of 0.9% of its value.

More Covid-19 worries seem to be what’s pushing the markets downwards. The appearance of new strains is a constant danger, threatening to invalidate vaccine development. On top of that, the US stimulus that president Joe Biden plans to push is rumored to encounter resistance among republicans. Some Covid worries in Asia also might present issues for global production.