NEW YORK, NY
Major US stock indexes closed down by more than 1% Monday amid worries over rising cases of the omicron coronavirus variant.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 433 points, or 1.23%, to 34,932. The S&P 500 was down 52, or 1.14%, to 4,568.
The Nasdaq declined 188 points, or 1.24%, to end the day at 14,980.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier that he expects a rapid surge in omicron cases that may peak in a few weeks.
On Friday, New York state saw its highest single-day total for coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, reporting 21,027 positive infections.
Amid the omicron fears, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, rose 6.5% to 22.97.
The dollar index was down 0.05% to 96.52, but the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 1.34% to 1.421%.
Precious metals fell slightly, with gold losing 0.5% to $1,789 per ounce and silver decreasing 0.4% to $22.26.
Crude prices took a dive as the omicron variant lowered the global oil demand outlook. Brent crude was trading at $71.96 per barrel with a 2.1% loss, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was at $69.11 — a 2.5% decline.
