COVID variant fears spook traders, sending stocks lower

The World Health Organization says cases and deaths are climbing globally after a period of decline, spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant.

Resurgent pandemic worries are knocking stocks lower from Wall Street to Sydney on Monday, fuelled by fears that faster-spreading variants of the virus may upend the economy’s strong recovery. The S&P 500 was 2 percent lower in afternoon trading, after setting a record just a week earlier. In another sign of worry, the yield on the 10-year Treasury touched its lowest level in five months as investors scrambled for safer places to put their money. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 885 points, or 2.6 percent, at 33,802, as of 12:58 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was 1.5 percent lower.