Major stock market benchmarks in the United States ended the session in the red on Friday, with the Dow Jones plunging more than 530 points amid worries regarding both the monetary policy and the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller and Mary Daly both expressed somewhat hawkish stances earlier during the day, while the sentiment was also negatively impacted by a rise in COVID infections, with the state of New York recording an all-time high in daily cases.
The Dow Jones dropped 1.48%, or 532 points, as the session came to a close with Goldman Sachs surrendering 3.92%. The Nasdaq 100 was concurrently down by 0.39% as NetEase dived 5.15%. At the same time, the S&P 500 lost 1.03%. Missouri-based Leggett & Platt was the index’s worst performer, with a 7.98% plummet at the closing bell.
The euro nosedived 0.84% versus the dollar, selling for 1.12383 at 3:59 pm ET.