November 30, 2021: -Investor Bill Ackman said the new omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus could give U.S. stocks a boost if symptoms turn out to be less severe.

“While it is early to have definitive data, reported data suggest that the Omicron virus causes ‘mild to moderate symptoms and is more transmissible,” Ackman said on Sunday. “If this turns out to be true, this is bullish, not bearish for markets.”

The founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management added that it would be bullish for the equity market and bearish for the bond market.

First found in South Africa, the Covid strain is found in more than a dozen countries, which causes many to restrict travel from southern Africa. On Friday, the World Health Organization labeled the omicron strain a “variant of concern” when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 900 points to suffer its worst day since October 2020.

Covid symptoms linking to the omicron variant have been described as “extremely mild” by the South African doctor that was raised the alarm over the new strain.

Still, the WHO said it would take weeks to understand how the variant may affect diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

Ackman’s comments have been watched throughout the health crisis and the market’s turbulent ride more than the past two years. At the height of the Covid-19 crisis in March 2020, Ackman came on CNBC to warn investors and urged President Donald Trump and corporate America to shut down the country for 30 days to contain the outbreak, which calls it the only option rescue the economy.

Days after the interview, Ackman shows that his firm exited the short positions just as the S&P 500 bottomed, pocketing over $2 billion in bets against markets that month.

In July, when Wall Street was grappling with the delta Covid variant, Ackman said it doesn’t pose a huge threat to the economic reopening, and he sees interest rates rising on the back of the big comeback.

Currently, at the end of October, the hedge fund manager called for the Federal Reserve to begin to rein in its support for the economy during the pandemic. He said the central bank should “taper immediately and started raising rates as soon as possible.”