Futures slump on fresh Omicron worries after vaccine warning
Send a link to a friend
[November 30, 2021] By
Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick
(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell
sharply on Tuesday after a warning from vaccine maker Moderna's chief
executive on the effectiveness of COVID-19 shots against the Omicron
variant hammered travel, energy and banking shares.
Global equity markets tumbled after Stéphane Bancel also told the
Financial Times that it was likely the current crop of vaccines would
need to be modified.
Adding to the fears, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said prior analyses
suggested its COVID-19 antibody drug could have reduced activity against
the Omicron variant.
Occidental Petroleum led losses among energy shares, down 3.8%, as oil
prices slumped more than 3% on demand concerns. [O/R]
Major Wall Street lenders sank more than 2%, tracking a dip in Treasury
yields as safe haven demand kept bond buying high. Bank of America Corp
was the biggest loser among peers, down 2.5%. [US/]
American Airlines Group fell the most among airline stocks, down between
1.3% and 3.5%. Cruise operators Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line
dropped about 3.8% each.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/30/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_SFARM_2021.png)
Wall Street's main indexes rebounded on Monday from Friday's deep
sell-off, as investors were hopeful that the Omicron coronavirus variant
would not lead to lockdowns after reassurances from U.S. President Joe
Biden.
Uncertainty about the new variant has triggered fresh alarm at a time
when supply chain logjams are weighing on economic recovery and global
central banks are contemplating a return to pre-pandemic monetary policy
to tackle a surge in inflation.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/113021pics/busine72.jpg)
A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., July 19, 2021.
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/30/images/ads/current/llm_lda_HFH_2021.png)
At 6:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 458 points, or 1.31%, S&P 500 e-minis
were down 49.75 points, or 1.07%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 89 points, or
0.54%.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are due
to testify before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) to
discuss the economic recovery from the pandemic.
In his prepared testimony, Powell said he continues to expect inflation to
recede over the next year, but warned that the new strain of COVID-19 muddies
the outlook, and prices could continue to rise for longer than earlier thought.
Focus will also be on November readings on Chicago PMI and consumer confidence
data due later in the day.
Bucking the trend, stay-at-home stocks, which benefited the most during the
lockdown, such as Netflix Inc, Teladoc Health, Peloton Interactive and Zoom
Video Communications rose between 0.5% and 2.2%.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Nov/30/images/ads/current/guzzardos_sda_HFH_2021.png) |