US: Wall Street drops sharply at open on fears over new virus variant

[NEW YORK] US stock indexes opened sharply lower on Friday, with travel, bank and commodity-linked stocks bearing the brunt of a selloff triggered by the discovery of a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 437.69 points or 1.22 per cent at the open to 35,366.69.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 36.83 points or 0.78 per cent at 4,664.63 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 180.85 points or 1.14 per cent to 15,664.38 at the opening bell.

REUTERS