Ebola

Ebola: Makes first land fall in New York; investors flee toward safe havens Last night, the S&P500 gave up a third of its gains in late trading, falling from an intraday gain of as much as 1.8% to close just 1.2% higher, after New York reported its first case of Ebola. According to newswires, a 33-year old doctor who recently returned to New York after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, has been tested positive for the virus. He began showing symptoms on Wednesday night. Earlier, he attended a bowling session and used taxis for transport. While the city authorities have rushed to control the situation and effect quarantines on individuals at risk, the highly contagious nature of Ebola has raised nervousness in the financial markets, leading to a bout of profit taking in risk assets. The S&P500 futures has continued to slide 0.4% in current Asian hours. Accordingly, the STI is trading 0.4% lower at 3,222, and the HSI is down 0.3% at 23.269. Investors are seeking shelter in safe-haven assets such as the yen (+0.2%) and US bonds. Airlines are amongst the sectors most impacted by an Ebola scare as people tend to avoid overseas travel; accordingly SIA is down 1% at $9.60. Healthcare consumables, such as rubber glove makers, are beneficiaries given higher product usage and stocking up of supplies by the hospitals. Key players are SGX-listed Riverstone (Buy, TP $1.21), and Bursa-listed Top Glove (Hold, TP RM4.70), Kossan (Buy, TP RM5.00), and Hartalega (Buy, TP RM7.30).