Stocks Sell Off As Delta Variant Fear Takes Hold, Dow Falls More Than 750 Points

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday morning putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a path to the worst day of 2021.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 760 points, or 2.25 percent, in the first hour of trading. The S&P 500 was off by 1.8 percent. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5 percent. The Russell 200 fell by 2.5 percent.

Airlines and cruise ship companies fell amid concern that further travel restrictions or would-be customer fears over a resurgent virus could curtail business.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.187 percent, the lowest since February, as investors sought a safe haven trade. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields. Bond yields were down across Europe and in Japan as well.

Oil plummeted. West Texas Intermediate fell by more than 5 percent and Brent, the international standard, fell by 5.4 percent.

All 11 sectors of the S&P were down in the first hour of trading. The worst performing sector was energy, which fell 4.5 percent. This was followed by financials, down 2.48 percent, and industrials, which fell 2.43 percent. The best performing sector was consumer staples, down by 0.63 percent, followed by utilitis, down by 0.97 percent. That’s a pattern that many market watchers descibe as a “risk off” trade.