Global markets sunk yesterday, undermined by the surge of this new Covid-19 strain. This sudden return of risk aversion demonstrates the need not to put all your eggs in the same basket, since American and Asian markets have resisted much better than the European indices, in part due to the new stimulus plan announced in the U.S.

The Dow Jones even ended in the green yesterday. There were also divergences in Europe, since “Covid-proof” stocks made a strong comeback.

Many European countries have closed their borders with the United Kingdom. This is the case of France which decided on Sunday to close its border for at least 48 hours. This bad news comes on top of post-Brexit negotiations whose outcome nobody knows. In this context, the pound sterling has experienced a significant fall since December 16 against the main safe-haven currencies.

In the U.S., the $900 billion stimulus package comes at a time when the country is facing a continued worsening of the pandemic, with the new contamination curve far from flattening. The first case of Covid-19 in the U.S. was reported 332 days ago on January 22, 2020. Since then, the country has reported 17,655,591 cases and 316,159 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

Today will be published the final reading of the US GDP, consumer confidence and the figures for old property.