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Stocks plummeted on Friday as investors braced for the Omicron variant fueling a new round of lockdowns.
In one day, the market challenged the idea of economic "reopening" and revived "stay-at-home" stocks a?? and the homebody economy.
Such massive one-day stock swings can drive government policies that benefit big-time investors over the average worker.
Reports of an ominous new COVID variant powered one of the biggest stock market tumbles of 2021 the day after Thanksgiving. It could all be for nothing a?? and that reveals a dangerous trend in the US economy.Such major stock-market movementsA may be too influential, shaping both how corporations are run and how the government shapes economic policy.A And when the stock market digests more complex and complete information, it's often too late to change a major policy decision that's been set in motion.The power of market moves was everywhere on Black Friday, as investors frantically dumped stocks amid news of the Omicron variant emerging in Africa. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
shed more than 1,000 points at intraday lows, while the S&P 500 dropped the most since February. Safe havens like Treasury bonds soared as traders sought less volatile assets. Popular stay-at-home plays like Zoom Video, Peloton, and DocuSign jumped as traders
braced for another round of lockdowns. Governments joined the panic too, immediately, instituting travel bans.A The selloff reveals widespread concern that the strain will plunge the world into a new economic disaster, but those concerns may yet be overstated.
