FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: STOCK MARKETS TUMBLE AMID FEARS OF NEW OMICRON VARIANT FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

Fear stalks the markets after the Omicron tumble....Investors will be on alert this week for information on the spread of the Covid Omicron variant......The Dow lost 905 points, the S&P 500 fell 2.3 per cent – its worst day since February – and the Nasdaq had its worst drop in two months

• Travel and energy stocks were among the biggest losers, amid concern over more lockdowns and travel bans.......Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street on Friday, after the new Omicron coronavirus variant detected in South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from southern Africa.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 905 points. The S&P 500 index fell 2.3 per cent, its worst day since February and the Nasdaq composite had its worst drop in two months.

Travel and energy stocks are among the biggest losers, with Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruises all off over 10 per cent.

Stock trading the Friday after Thanksgiving is typically the slowest day of the year, with the market closing at early at 1pm.“Investors are likely to shoot first and ask questions later until more is known,” Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a report.

That was evident from the action in the bond market, where the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.51 per cent from 1.64 per cent on Wednesday. As a result, banks took some of the heaviest losses. JPMorgan Chase dropped 4 per cent. There have been other variants of the coronavirus – the Delta variant devastated much of the US throughout the summer – and investors, public officials and the general public are jittery about any new variant that is spreading. It has been nearly two years since Covid-19 emerged, killing more than 5 million people around the globe so far.