AstraZeneca’s struggle, China’s fresh restrictions on big techs may weigh on sentiment

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) came out with two different news pieces that cited challenges for late Thursday’s recovery in the market sentiment.

Among them, chatters over AstraZeneca’s struggle to collect data for another regulatory stamp from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gains major attention amid the first death, in Canada, due to the blood clotting issues after the usage of the vaccine.

“An FDA signoff could boost global acceptance of the drugmaker’s shot, health and drug-industry experts say. But some said that if fresh doubts were to surface in an FDA review, that could undermine public perceptions of the vaccine,” said the WSJ.

On the other hand, China’s latest curbs on the big technology companies and payment processors to use data raised doubts that the world’s second-largest economy eyes more domestic growth than its previous push towards globalization.

While detailing the issue, WSJ stated, “Thursday, China’s central bank and other regulators ordered 13 firms, including many of the biggest names in the technology sector, to adhere to much tighter regulation of their data and lending practices.” The news added, “Their aim, say analysts, is to curb a revolutionary business model that let China’s Big Tech develop and use powerful payment apps and other information about hundreds of millions of users.”

FX implications

The news seems to exert downside pressure on the S&P 500 Futures, currently unchanged around 4,200, as the stock derivative fails to replicate its upbeat performance on Wall Street.

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