US Stocks take hardest hit in 3 weeks on fears of coronavirus Delta variant infections

New York, Jul 9 (FN Bureau) US stocks suffered their sharpest loss in three weeks on Tuesday after worries that the novel coronavirus Delta variant may lead to another major breakout triggered a risk-off mood across financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest US equity barometer on the New York Stock Exchange, finished at 34,422, down 260 points or 0.8 percent. The last time the Dow closed down 260 points or more in a day was on June 18. Earlier in Tuesday’s session, the Dow fell as much as 535 points to an intraday low of 34,146.

The S&P 500 index, which groups the top 500 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, fell 37 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 4,321. The Nasdaq Composite index, which includes high-flying tech stocks such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google, finished down 105 points, or 0.7 percent, at 14,560. Some health experts have said the United States might be headed for a fall season with the Delta variant of the coronavirus likely to spark another surge of infections.