After the announcement of an upcoming global election, markets plunged into chaos Friday. heavily-mutated Covid-19 variantFirst detected in South Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will be meeting Friday to discuss the B.1.1.529 variation. South African scientists believe it has more than 30 mutations of spike protein. This is the part of the virus that binds cells. It is much more contagious than the Delta variant that’s currently dominant.

These mutations can lead to an increase in antibody resistance, which could impact the variant’s ability to receive vaccines, treatment, and transmission, according to health officials. However, the WHO said that further research is necessary to fully understand their implications.

Pan-European Stoxx 600Early European trade fell 2.6%, with travel stocks and banks suffering heavy losses along with the oil sector and falling oil prices.

International benchmark Brent crudeDuring morning European trade, the price of a barrel was at $77.84/barrel. This is 5.3% lower than it was in Europe. U.S. crudeTo $73.31, the drop was more than 6.5%

U.S. stock futures were down nearly 800 points at the opening Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe markets of Asia-Pacific were impacted by the sudden fall in overnight trading, but Hong Kong was the exception. Hang Seng indexJapan’s Nikkei 225Each person loses more than 2.5%.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped by more than 11 basis points to 1.5277%4.30 a.m. ET. ET. The yields of Treasury bonds are inversely related to the prices. 1 basis point equals 0.01%. Spot goldThe troy-ounce price went up from $19 to $1808

One person from South Africa was affected by the variant and it was detected at a Hong Kong quarantine hospital. The remaining travellers were quarantined separately.

British authorities have placed an embargo on South Africa, Botswana and Namibia flights. These countries are home to the latest variant of Ebola. The mandatory 10 day quarantine period for travelers to these countries begins immediately.

Analysts have speculated that market volatility could be caused by lower trading volume due to U.S. Thanksgiving holidays. U.S. markets closed Thursday. They will be open until noon on Friday.

Central banks should be more cautious

Geoffrey Yu from BNY Mellon’s senior market strategist said on Friday to CNBC’s “SquawkBox Europe” that certain corners might be convinced that this variant will give the Federal Reserve cause for concern about normalizing its monetary policy. However, he did not necessarily share that opinion.

Yu stated that recent resurgence of Covid cases in EuropeEven before this new variant was announced, it had been stated that, “we are still going to deal with this for some while, and there will continue to be risk aversions on markets due to concern over the pandemic.”

Emmanuel Cau from Barclays’ European Equity Strategy stated that with most major stock markets near their all-time highs a pullback is “logical.”

Cau stated in an email that “we have recommended a greater barbell sector allocation” and downside hedges at those levels. However, he said resilient growth and patient central bankers should provide cushion over a medium-term period while investors still have the cash to purchase dips.

It is important to determine if current vaccines are still effective against these variants. Covid uncertainty could force central banks into caution.