Taking stock
As yet there are still many unknowns. Is the variant vaccine resistant? Is it more highly transmissible? Is it more or less deadly than the delta variant?
All of these questions are making markets think. Do not underestimate that markets are in holiday thinned conditions and that has exacerbated these initial risk off moves. These were the comments I was making to Reuters first thing this am. See here.
Let's see if the momentum carries on to the downside, but some of these moves seem premature given the unknowns.
Bonds are bid
Oil, Copper, Iron Ore all lower
US futures and European equities lower
Risk sensitive pairs are all lower