What happened
Shares of card issuer Marqeta (MQ -2.74%) had risen more than 10% as of 12:05 a.m. ET after fintech stocks rebounded and the company announced a new partnership.
So what
Fintech stocks have gotten hammered this month as signs of higher inflation and then the discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus hit the sector with a double whammy. Marqeta is down more than 30% over the last month.
Marqeta helps companies manage their card programs and makes money based on how much customers use its cards, so if there were to be a slowdown in the economy and less consumer spending, that would not bode well for the company.
Marqeta also announced today that it plans to expand its partnership with buy now, pay later company Klarna into 13 new European markets.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The main driver today appears to be the bounce back of the broader fintech sector, as investors finally end their relentless selling.
While valuations have run up quite a bit and inflation is still a major concern for high-growth tech stocks, hopefully, the market reaction to the omicron variant turns out to be an overreaction. If the variant does not turn out to be a significant issue for the economy in 2022 then I think Marqeta will be able to bounce back closer to previous levels.
