Dow falls 652 points amid bond purchase tapering, Omicron variant concerns

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652 points Tuesday amid concerns about the Federal Reserve tapering its bond purchases and the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The blue-chip index fell 1.86%, while the broad S&P 500 dropped 1.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed the day down 1.55%.

Stocks hit their session lows after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday he expects policymakers to discuss ramping up tapering of the central bank's COVID-19 bond purchases in opening statements before the Senate Banking Committee.

American Express stock fell 3.52% and Coca-Cola stock dropped 3.16% to lead the Dow's decline.

Markets also responded to concern over the Omicron variant as Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times that the company's COVID-19 vaccine would likely see a "material drop" in efficacy against the variant, while Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC that it could mean that "the vaccines protect less."

Moderna stock fell 4.36% at the end of trading as Bancel said it could take months for an Omicron-specific vaccine to ship, while Pfizer stock gained 2.54%.

Travel shares fell amid the worries as Booking Holdings fell 3.67%, Norwegian Cruise Lines dropped 3.51% and Expedia Group dropped 3.25%.

The 10-year treasury yield fell below 1.45% after rising above 1.5% on Monday.

Oil prices also fell Tuesday as U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5.4% to $66.18 per barrel.