ASX 200 follows Wall Street lower, NSW virus cases edge higher

• ASX 200 opens lower on Tuesday, YTD the index is down 0.6%
• A new variant of the coronavirus rocks global markets
• NSW COVID-19 cases continue to rise modestly
• Trade the ASX 200, long or short with an IG Trading Account now

ASX 200 falls as virus anxiety grows

The ASX 200 benchmark opened lower on Tuesday, falling 30 points or 0.45%, in the first 10-minutes of the session, to trade at 6,639.60 points. By 11:52AM those losses mounted, with the ASX 200 down 56 points or 0.85%.

This follows a wobbly day on Wall Street – with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finishing out the session in the red. By comparison, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to an intraday low of 29,755.53, before rallying into the close and finishing out the session firmly above the 30,000 point level.

Summarising these market moves, IG’s market analyst Kyle Rodda wrote:

‘Volatility spiked and risk assets plunged, as – it would at least seem – market participants became acutely conscious of the possibility the COVID-19 might not be vanquished with a vaccine as previously hoped.’

This comes as anxiety around the coronavirus grows, following the revelation that a new variant of COVID-19 had emerged in the United Kingdom, which, according to the ABC, 'is thought to be driving increased transmission of the disease in parts of the UK.'

In response to this, CNN reported that a variety of countries across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas have begun to implement travel bans to the UK.

Like the UK, the situation in Australia continues to escalate, with key states closing off their borders – either in full or in part – to NSW. This comes as NSW continues to see its cases of the virus tick higher, reporting 15 fresh locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Monday, December 22.

NSW recorded an additional 8 cases on Tuesday, December 23, down from the day prior.

Iron ore prices continue to defy gravity

Despite the ASX falling at the open, pure play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) saw its share again open higher, hitting $24.32 per share at 10:10AM. Iron ore prices have continued to surge over the last month – as supply issues re-emerge and speculation runs rampant in iron ore futures markets.

As Kyle Rodda wrote in a note to clients ‘iron ore prices continued to surge, with the commodity trading at roughly $US180 a tonne at time of writing.’

Despite that, a little before noon all three of Australia's large cap miners – FMG, BHP and Rio Tinto – were in the red as the ASX 200 continued to fall.

How to trade markets: long or short

What are your thoughts on the market at current price levels: are you bullish or bearish? Whatever your view, you can use CFDs to trade indices, currencies and equities – both LONG or SHORT – with IG’s easy to use trading platform now.

For example, to buy (long) or sell (short) the ASX 200 using CFDs, follow these easy steps:

• Create an IG Trading Account or log in to your existing account
• Enter ‘ASX 200’ in the search bar and select it
• Choose your position size
• Click on ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ in the deal ticket
• Confirm the trade