(Bloomberg) — Stocks retreated as traders assessed the latest developments on the global spread of the omicron coronavirus strain, with the U.S. confirming its first case in California.
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In a very volatile session, the S&P 500 erased gains after rallying almost 2% earlier in the day. Trading volume was 45% above the average of the past month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperformed major benchmarks amid a slide in giants such as Tesla Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. Airlines, cruise operators and hotels tumbled.
South Africa said Covid-19 cases almost doubled from Tuesday, with the new strain popping up in the U.K., Switzerland and Brazil. The World Health Organization’s chief scientist noted that vaccines will likely protect against severe cases of the variant. Traders also assessed comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who reinforced his message that the central bank would keep inflation in check and that officials should consider speeding up how quickly they withdraw support.
“‘Shutdown risk’ is the main reason, but there’s more at work,” wrote Adam Crisafulli, the founder of Vital Knowledge. “The rally this morning never had a lot of conviction behind it, and investors are still trying to sort through not just omicron but the Fed’s new reaction function too.”
Read: Government Shutdown Risk Rises as Congress Stalls on Stopgap
Confidence among chief executive officers of large U.S. companies jumped to an all-time high as expectations for hiring, capital investment and sales all improve. A measure of manufacturing rose in November, while separate data suggested employers continued to chip away at filling a near-record number of open positions.
Some corporate highlights:
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Moderna Inc. shares fell after the pharmaceutical company lost an appeal of a patent ruling involving a rival’s drug-delivery technology, which could make its Covid-19 vaccine vulnerable to infringement suits.
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Salesforce.com Inc. slumped after the top maker of cloud-based customer-relations software gave revenue and profit forecasts that fell short of estimates.
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T-Mobile US Inc. planned to sell bonds in a deal that could help the mobile-phone company buy more wireless spectrum as carriers race to build their 5G networks.
Key events to watch this week:
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OPEC, allies may re-evaluate plans for reviving oil supplies, Thursday
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U.S. initial jobless claims, Thursday
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U.S. jobs report, factory orders, durable goods on Friday
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
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The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 3:41 p.m. New York time
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The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
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The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
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The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1313
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The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3266
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The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 112.84 per dollar
Bonds
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The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.43%
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Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.34%
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Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.82%
Commodities
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West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $65.31 a barrel
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Gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,781.80 an ounce
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