The Dow fell nearly 700 points, or 1.9%, in midday trading Monday. The S&P 500 was down 1.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2%..
"A combination of increasing Omicron nerves, particularly in the UK and Europe, and the failure of President Biden's spending plan... has seen Asian equities head directly south in sympathy with Wall Street's Friday finish," wrote Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at Oanda. Adding to the gathering gloom is the threat that Omicron poses to business. The highly-transmissible variant had been identified in at least 45 US states as of Sunday, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. And with Delta still present, Covid-19 cases are rising in some areas. New York set a new record for single-day Covid-19 cases for a third consecutive day Sunday, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.
UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News on Monday that he could not rule out further Covid-19 restrictions being implemented before Christmas in England.The World Economic Forum announced Monday that it would delay its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland — scheduled for January 17-21 — until early summer because of uncertainty over the Omicron outbreak.