Shortly after the market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 301 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 ticked down 0.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.
Heading up losses in the Dow, shares of Johnson & Johnson are down more than 4% after the conglomerate its Covid-19 vaccine candidate is 66% effective preventing the disease–much less than the high-90% efficacy reported by the approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. 89% efficacy in its United Kingdom Covid-19 vaccine trials–boosting the stock by a stunning 63%.
Meanwhile, meme stocks are back on the rise–though still far from their mid-week peaks–with GameStop, AMC Entertainment and BlackBerry surging 95%, 50% and 20%, respectively, as brokers like Robinhood lessen their restrictions on trading after immense backlash over the decision on social media. Recent market volatility is also hitting global markets: Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day down 1.9%, while the United Kingdom's FTSE 100 slips 1.7%, and Germany's DAX Index falls 1.2%.
AMC AND NOK TO THE MOON