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Stocks slide to start the week as omicron fears intensify, Dow falls 430 points

The major averages fell on Monday as investors grappled with the resurgence of Covid cases spurred from the newfound omicron variant.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 433.28 points to 34,932.16, dragged down by losses in Boeing, Goldman Sachs and American Express.

The S&P 500 dipped 1.1% to 4,568.02 and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2% to 14,980.94.

The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 lost nearly 1.6%.

The S&P 500 fell 3.01% over the past three days, as of Dec. 20, making it the worst decline over a three-day span since September. The Nasdaq Composite has also tumbled 3.76% over the past three days, marking the worst three-day stretch since May.

The omicron variant is raging across to the world as the winter holiday season approaches. U.S. cases are jumping into year-end with more than 156,000 reported on Friday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The strain has been found through testing in 43 out of 50 U.S. states and around 90 countries, and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, according to the World Health Organization.

European markets close lower as omicron worries intensify; Stoxx 600 down 1.4%

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended the session around 1.4% lower, with autos shedding 2.7% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.

The Netherlands entered full lockdown on Sunday until mid-January, and the possibility of tighter restrictions being imposed over the Christmas holidays and into the new year looms over a number of European countries amid an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases.

From Monday, only German citizens, residents and transit passengers will be allowed to enter Germany from the U.K., with all inbound travelers required to quarantine for 14 days irrespective of vaccination status. Travel restrictions were also imposed for arrivals from Denmark, Norway and France.

Austria will only allow entry to vaccinated travelers from Monday.

Cases have also begun to spiral stateside, with New York state and the District of Columbia posting record daily cases for consecutive days.

Reference: CNBC