Fears that the rapid spread of swine flu cases from Mexico into North America and Europe could be the start of a global pandemic provided another hit to fragile investor confidence yesterday, but US and European stock markets managed a recovery after initially moving lower.
Airline, travel and tourism stocks were hit hard but pharmaceutical companies gained ground on hopes for higher vaccine sales after the World Health Organisation declared a “health emergency.”
In Chicago, prices for lean hogs and pork bellies traded sharply lower after initially falling by their daily trading limit amid talk of US trade restrictions with Mexico. Live cattle prices also came under selling pressure.