U.S. stock-index futures fell Sunday night, following a losing week on Wall Street amid worries about Fed policy and the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-0.88%
slid about 270 points, or 0.8%, as of midnight Eastern. S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-1.02%
were down 0.9%, or 40 points, while Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
-1.15%
slid 1%, or 155 points. Oil prices also sank, with front-month West Texas intermediate crude
CL.1,
-3.32%
falling nearly $2 a barrel Sunday night, and Brent crude
BRN00,
-3.01%,
the global benchmark, similarly off.
The Dow
DJIA,
-1.48%
dropped more than 500 points, or 1.5%, on Friday, and the S&P 500
SPX,
-1.03%
and Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.07%
following it lower. For the week, the Dow lost 1.7%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.9% and the Nasdaq tumbled 3%.
Last week’s losses came as investors weighed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hawkish pivot, speeding up its reduction of monthly bond purchases and predicting three interest-rate hikes next year.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden’s signature $2 trillion spending plan appeared doomed as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he cannot support it — potentially handing Biden and Democrats a major political loss.
Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases are growing sharply in many parts of the world, fueled by the rapid spread of omicron. Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he expects record cases of COVID-19 this winter, and urged people to get vaccinated and get boosters.
Wall Street has a shortened week coming up, with markets closed Friday for the Christmas holiday.
