Global financial markets are experiencing significant gains following the announcement of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate demonstrating 90% effectiveness, with potential availability within the coming months. This development is dramatically reshaping investor sentiment, leading to substantial increases in futures trading. While this positive news is benefiting sectors previously negatively impacted by the pandemic, the recovery is not uniform across all businesses.

Specifically, companies in the airline and cruise industries are showing remarkable recovery, while the stock prices of businesses that thrived during lockdowns, such as Zoom and Peloton, are experiencing considerable declines this morning. (Additional reporting today: “Zoom reaches settlement with FTC regarding ‘misleading’ security assertions.”)

Peloton’s market value has decreased by almost 13%, reflecting a shift away from at-home fitness equipment as restrictions potentially ease. Similarly, Zoom, a widely used video communication platform for businesses, has also seen a 13% reduction in its value. Online retail businesses, including Etsy and Wayfair, are also facing losses, with double-digit percentage drops. Even Amazon is down in pre-market activity, currently 2.3% below its previous closing price.

This morning’s trading activity represents a reversal of earlier market patterns. During the summer months, technology stocks were highly favored by investors, but it now seems capital is flowing out of the tech sector and into other, potentially more affordable, investment options.

Although it remains too early to definitively state, it is possible that software companies (specifically those in the SaaS and cloud technology areas closely monitored by TechCrunch) may see their valuation multiples reduced as investors redirect funds toward a broader range of growth opportunities. Should this occur, the technology sector will need to adjust to more conservative valuations for publicly traded companies.

Such a shift would also affect startups, particularly those in later funding stages whose valuations often correlate with public market performance; late-stage startup funding has been robust this year due to anticipated liquidity events like IPOs at elevated prices. A decline in these prices could lead to a tightening of capital availability for tech startups.

It is important to note that these are early indications, and conditions are subject to change. Investors may be reacting prematurely to news that will take several months to fully influence economic activity. Nevertheless, today appears to mark a significant turning point in the market narrative of 2020.