New COVID variant sparks US stock market downturn

NEW YORK CITY (NBC) – U.S. stocks are down drastically Friday.

After the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points, or nearly 3% of its value.

Likewise, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were both off more than 2% in trading Friday.

The selloff was largely driven by fears about a new COVID-19 variant that’s been detected in South Africa.

Travel-related stocks suffered some of the worst hits.

On the flip side, vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer saw big gains Friday.

Markets close at 1 p.m. Eastern Friday due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.

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