For February, investors are focused on stock market volatility, the Fed tightening rates, and how much the economy is slowing. However, an equally important development is taking place in the background that will have major implications for certain stocks: the Covid-19 variant Omicron wave has peaked and is now rapidly receding.
As the chart above shows, the 7-day moving average of new cases peaked just above 800,000 and is currently around 440,000. There are some other positives about omicron such as it being milder than previous strains and the very low hospitalization and death rates for vaccinated and/or boosted people. Further, there is some hope that all the detected and undetected omicron infections could bring us closer to “herd immunity”.
