Swine Flu Infects Global Markets
Posted April 27, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Even if swine flu isn’t making you sneeze, it could still be making you sick in other ways.
Global financial markets opened low on Monday after cases of the outbreak were confirmed in the United States and Canada over the weekend.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 27.32 points. In Asia, Hong Kong fell 418.43 points, or 2.7 percent, to 14,840.42 but Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock rose, averaging a managed gain of 18.35.
The drop in stocks is the last thing investors need as stockholders wait out this period of economic recovery.
Airlines were the first to feel the pinch, as they prepared for less travel in general and fewer trips to Mexico especially.
Air Canada and Westjet both announced Sunday they would waive fees for anyone seeking to change their Mexican flight plans between now and April 30.
Travel and hotel companies were also sold off.
However, the assumed demand for anti-viral drugs caused a rally in pharmaceutical companies.
With files from the Canadian Press.
A man walks past precautionary signs permanently posted at a hospital on April 27, 2009 in Hong Kong. Photo credit Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images.
