Markets mixed, COVID-19 threatens US hospitals and chip supply

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent but the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.2 percent.

Earlier in Asia, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent but the Shanghai Composite rose 0.6 percent.

The surge in COVID-19 infections continue around the world, with some hospitals in the US reporting packed emergency rooms as the country hit a new pandemic high of 300,886 average new daily cases over the week to Wednesday.

“What we're experiencing right now is an absolute overwhelming of the emergency departments” in Washington, said Dr James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital.

Meanwhile, an outbreak of COVID-19 infections in the Chinese city of Xi'an could aggravate a global chip shortage. Samsung and Micron reported on Wednesday that they have had to adjust operations in the city after authorities enacted a stringent lockdown.