Dow futures were down more than 500 points Monday, a drop of 1.5%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were each more than 1% lower as well.
Investors feared that the Delta coronavirus variant could threaten the US economic recovery. Shares of companies in sectors that were widely thought to benefit most from the reopening of the economy are getting hit the hardest.
Airlines American (AAL), United (UAL) and Delta (DAL) were all down more than 3%. Cruise operators Carnival (CCL), Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian (NCLH) each fell more than 4%.
Energy stocks plummeted as well following a more than 3% drop in oil prices. Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) were down nearly 3%.The OPEC+ group of nations also agreed over the weekend on a deal to produce more oil, a move that could boost supply and reduce crude prices.
And small American companies were also getting hit particularly hard. Futures of the Russell 2000 (RUT) were down more than 2%. That index primarily holds shares of small cap firms that generate more of their revenue from the United States than international markets.
The still-high number of unvaccinated Americans means vaccination rates have not met the threshold needed to stop the spread of Covid-19. Most Americans who have not previously been infected or received vaccinations will likely contract the rapidly spreading Delta variant, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Forty-eight states are now seeing new case numbers surge at least 10% higher than the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Stocks fell Friday as well due to conflicting reports about the health of the US consumer. Retail sales grew surprisingly in June, but a measure of consumer sentiment for July showed that Americans are growing less confident about the economy.
