The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1619 GMT - Canadian Pacific Railway says it won regulatory approval in Mexico for its planned acquisition of Kansas City Southern. The nod for the $31B deal is a small step in the lengthy review of the carrier's bid to revive freight rail consolidation in North America. The green light from two Mexican competition regulators brings the railroads closer to creating a single freight rail network linking the US, Canada and Mexico. A review of the proposed deal by the US rail regulators is expected to take until late 2022. (lydia.oneal@wsj.com)

1543 GMT - Southern Africa's 450K weekly airline seats account for less than 0.5% of global capacity. And 80% of that is within the region, limiting the potential for intercontinental spread, notes data tracker OAG. Still, investors are clearly pricing in potential for broader travel restrictions, reflected in double-digit declines even in stocks such as American Airlines and Norwegian Cruise Line with minimal direct Africa exposure. Airline trade group IATA says fresh restrictions are "causing fear" among travelers. (doug.cameron@wsj.com; @dougcameron)

1412 GMT - Americans clamoring for lower gasoline prices just might get their wish, though perhaps only if a new Covid variant gets out of hand and results in renewed travel restrictions and closures. RBOB gasoline futures are plunging 7.9% to $2.0868 a gallon mid-morning in NY, putting them on course to close at their lowest price since Aug. 20 amid rising fears of a Covid variant in South Africa that may spread into Europe and beyond. The sudden fears haven't done anything to retail gasoline prices yet, which are still near a seven-year-high at $3.40 a gallon, according to AAA, and typically lag significant price-changes in futures markets by several days or more. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

1350 GMT - Boeing shares haven't fallen below $200 since February, but slid past the mark in heavy early trade on Friday as investors reacted to the prospect of a new wave of travel restrictions to tackle an emerging coronavirus variant. The initial 7% fall wiped $8.5B from Boeing's market value. Aircraft lessors, which have a bigger exposure to southern Africa and other emerging markets, fared worse, with AerCap shedding 11% and Air Lease losing 9%. Reservation agencies, another broad proxy for global travel, also sold off. Amadeus and Sabre both down sharply and ground handling specialist Menzies losing almost 10%. (doug.cameron@wsj.com; @dougcameron)

1309 GMT - General Electric increased its huge debt tender to $25B from $23B. By the end of this year, GE expects to have cut its gross debt by more than $80B since the end of 2018, up from the previous plan of $75B. The repurchase was already the largest in the history of the capital markets, eclipsing AB Inbev's $16B in 2019. More than $33B in debt was tendered as of Wednesday night with GE accepting $25B for purchase using cash from divesting its jet leasing business earlier this month. The debt cut is the latest move by GE to shore up its balance sheet in recent years and is central to its decision to split into three separate companies. (thomas.gryta@wsj.com)

1352 GMT - The effectiveness of existing vaccines against the new fast-spreading coronavirus variant identified in South Africa will be key to keeping borders open or not, HSBC says. "What matters is vaccine effectiveness: If existing vaccines are judged to be ineffective against the new variant, then the logic of imposing rules on individuals rather than countries will collapse," the bank says. If vaccines aren't effective, then countries would likely close borders and travel would fall again, delaying the recovery of the aviation industry. On the other hand, if existing vaccines can counter the new variant, then global travel should be able to continue its recovery--and rapidly--it says. European airline stocks are down on news of the new coronavirus strain. (olivia.bugault@wsj.com)

1333 GMT - EasyJet investors are likely to focus on the budget airline's outlook and any comments on the potential impact of new coronavirus variants in full-year results on Nov. 30. Management expects to report losses no greater than GBP1.175 billion, which is slightly better than the market expected, Hargreaves Lansdown says. "EasyJet flew 58% of its total capacity in the fourth quarter and we'd like some detailed ideas of when that's going to climb back to normal levels. With new Covid variants on the rise, that might not be as soon as we'd hoped," HL analyst Sophie Lund-Yates says. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

1134 GMT - Shares in the three largest US international airlines marked down more than 7% in pre open trade, with Boeing off 6% on the prospect of a new wave of travel restrictions to tackle an emerging coronavirus variant. American, United and Delta all slide more than domestic-focused carriers, with aerospace and defense stocks such as GE and Spirit AeroSystems all falling more than the broader market. (doug.cameron@wsj.com; @dougcameron)

1219 GMT - Volkswagen's preference shares have fallen around 30% since April, while shares of many auto peers have fared significantly better in the same period, NORD/LB analyst Frank Schwope says. The German car maker's share price is partly affected by the lack of semiconductors and the related sharp production cuts but the current turmoil resulting from conflict between the Volkswagen management and the company's works council is also weighing on the stock, the analyst says. According to Schwope, it is very likely that management and council will settle their reported dispute about potential job cuts and Volkswagen's electric-vehicle strategy soon and act in the best interests of the company. The current "power struggle" is part of the usual folklore at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, the analyst says. Volkswagen preference shares trade 3.6% lower at EUR166.12. (kim.richters@wsj.com)

1149 GMT - World trade has continued to edge down from its peak in March, while supply shortages have meant that Asian exporters remain unable to keep up with strong demand from consumers in advanced economies, Capital Economics says. Real-world goods trade fell by 0.9% on-month in September, broadly offsetting the downwardly-revised 0.7% rise in August, leaving the level of world trade 3.7% above its pre-pandemic level. But the large backlog of orders for manufacturers means that exports will probably remain elevated for several months, Capital Economics forecasts. Even when demand does eventually subside, large backlogs of unmet orders mean that Asian exports will remain elevated, which should keep shipping and air-freight costs sky-high for some time, Capital Economics' global economist Ariane Curtis says. (maria.martinez@wsj.com)

0927 GMT - The new travel restrictions imposed by the U.K. should have a limited impact for most in the European transport sector, but the new coronavirus variant poses a risk to European-listed airports among travel-related companies, RBC Capital Markets says. The British government has placed South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini on its "red list" for travel due to a new variant which is concerning scientists. Shares in Vinci, Aena, Aeroports de Paris and Ferrovial fall 6.8%, 6.3%, 6.0% and 4.4% respectively. (jaime.llinares@wsj.com)

0909 GMT - The FTSE 100 slides by 2.8% to 7104.06 in early trade, having hit a seven-week intraday low of 7051.24, as fears about a new, fast-spreading Covid-19 variant which might evade immunity cause investors to flee out of risky assets. "A new and potentially dangerous Covid variant has prompted a wave of risk aversion across markets," IG says. Travel stocks fall sharply after the U.K. imposed travel restrictions for flights from southern Africa as a result of the new strain, with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines losing 9.3%. Oil stocks, miners and banks all drop, while Rolls-Royce loses 8.4%. Moves in markets "will be amplified" by thin liquidity following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., IG says. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)