Equities, Oil Prices, US Treasury Yields All Drop on COVID-19 Variant Fears

Equities, Oil Prices, US Treasury Yields All Drop on COVID-19 Variant Fears
A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken on May 7, 2021. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:

WASHINGTON/LONDON—Shares tumbled on Wall Street on Friday as they reopened after Thanksgiving, while European stocks saw their biggest sell-off in 17 months and oil prices plunged by $10 per barrel as fears over a new coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying to safe-haven assets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday designated a new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa with a large number of mutations as being “of concern,” the fifth variant to be given the designation.