Stocks rebound as omicron fears ease, oil jumps
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic addresses inflation and new COVID concerns on ‘Your World.’
U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst session of the year as investors assess omicron, the new COVID-19 variant and reports it may not be as bad as initially feared.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 300 points or 0.9{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped 1{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} and 1.3{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}, respectively. The snapback comes after stocks suffered the worst drop of the year Friday as fears about the variant ripped through financial markets.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 35204.75 | +305.41 | +0.88{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4662.99 | +68.37 | +1.49{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15788.827166 | +297.17 | +1.92{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
Oil also rebounded over 6{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} to the $72 per barrel level, a positive barometer for energy stocks.
DOW POSTS BIGGEST DROP OF 2021 ON VARIANT FEARS
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | UNITED STATES OIL FUND L.P. | 51.22 | +1.70 | +3.43{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 61.94 | +0.61 | +0.99{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 116.08 | +1.61 | +1.41{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
In an interview with FOX on Friday, Atlanta Fed President Rapheal Bostic gave his assessment of the variant. “With each successive variant that’s been introduced, the economy has slowed down, but the amount of slowdown has been less.” If the omicron variant, he adds, follows a similar trajectory as the Delta variant, we will see slowing, but not as great as during the Delta variant surge.
DOW POSTS BIGGEST DROP OF 2021 ON VARIANT FEARS
Vaccine makers are in focus as they assess a plan to combat the omicron. Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel said it may be “months” before vaccines specific to the COVID-19 coronavirus variant can be shipped, according to an interview with CNBC.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRNA | MODERNA, INC. | 364.62 | +34.99 | +10.61{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 53.79 | -0.23 | -0.43{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| BNTX | BIONTECH SE | 363.49 | +15.49 | +4.45{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 159.71 | +0.46 | +0.29{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
INFLATION AT RISK OF 1980S SPIKE: TRUMP ADVISOR
Shares of Twitter are in focus on unconfirmed reports CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down. FOX Business’ inquires to the company were not immediately returned.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWTR | TWITTER, INC. | 46.49 | -0.53 | -1.13{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
Retailers are also in focus as more Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales figures roll in. Total online spending on Black Friday was $8.9B, the low end of Adobe’s predicted range and slightly lower than 2020’s $9 billion. Sales on Thanksgiving Day were flat year-over-year at $5.1B, this marks the first time where both days did not see an increase in online spending annually.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART, INC. | 143.58 | -1.48 | -1.02{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| TGT | TARGET CORP. | 250.91 | +4.28 | +1.74{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 3,583.60 | +79.04 | +2.26{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
| BBY | BEST BUY CO., INC. | 111.70 | -3.10 | -2.70{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} |
On the economic docket, at 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors is out with pending home sales for October. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expect an increase of 0.9{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} after a surprise decline of 2.3{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} in September as the supply of homes remained low.
Overseas, the independent body advising the British government on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines will likely decide Monday whether to expand the booster program to younger age groups following the discovery of the new omicron variant.
Benchmarks in London, Frankfurt and Paris had gained by midday. Indexes in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended lower, though losses were smaller than Friday’s fall, sparked by reports that the variant first spotted in South Africa appeared to spread around the globe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.