S&P 500 has worst day since February

13% oil price decline biggest drop since early in pandemic

NEW YORK —The S&P 500 index dropped 106.84 points, or 2.3 percent, to close at 4,594.62 on Friday. It was the worst day for Wall Street’s benchmark index since February.

The index was dragged lower by everything from banks, travel companies and energy companies as investors tried to reposition to protect themselves financially from news of a new COVID variant. The World Health Organization called the variant “highly transmissible.”

The price of oil fell about 13 percent, the biggest decline since early in the pandemic, amid worries of another slowdown in the global economy. That in turn dragged down energy stocks. Exxon shares fell

3.5 percent while Chevron fell 2.3 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 905.04 points to end the day at 34,899.34.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 353.57 points, or 2.2 percent, to 15,491.66.

“Investors are likely to shoot first and ask questions later until more is known,” Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a report.

That was evident from the action in the bond market, where the yield on the 10year Treasury note fell to 1.48 percent from 1.64 percent on Wednesday.

As a result, banks took some of the heaviest losses. Jpmorgan Chase dropped 3 percent.

Investors are worried that supply chain issues will worsen.

“A new, more dangerous, virus wave could cause some workers to temporarily exit the workforce, and deter others from returning, making current labor shortages worse,” said Neil Shearing, an economist with Capital Economics in London.

The variant also puts more pressure on central banks that are already faced with a dilemma: whether and when to raise interest rates to combat rising inflation.

“The threat of a new, more serious, variant of the virus may be a reason for central banks to postpone plans to raise interest rates until the picture becomes clearer,” Shearing said.

Stock trading the Friday after Thanksgiving is typically the slowest day of the year, with the market closing at 1 p.m. Eastern.

However, volume on Friday was much higher than it would typically be for a holiday-shortened day.

Roughly 3.4 billion shares exchanged hands on the New York Stock Exchange, which is only modestly below the 4 billion shares traded on an average day.