The Week In Review

12/3/21

The major averages dropped on Friday, after a disappointing November jobs report, as the market wrapped up a roller-coaster week driven by Covid omicron variant concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points to 34,580, dragged down by a 1.9% loss in Boeing. The Dow was down as much as 300 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 dropped 38 points or 0.8% to 4,538. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 295 points or 1.9% to 15,085. The major averages posted a losing week.

Stocks tied closely to the virus have led the market on its week-long seesaw, and that continued Friday. Companies that benefit from the economic expansion, such as hotels and airlines, led losers. Las Vegas Sands was off by 3.7% and Delta Air Lines fell 1.8%. Norwegian Cruise Line fell 4.5% and Carnival Corp. lost 3.9%.

Technology stock also dragged on the major averages on Friday as Tesla fell 6.4% and Zoom Video fell 4.1%. DocuSign cratered 42.2% after the company issued fourth-quarter sales guidance that was lower than what analysts expected.

November's jobs report showed slower-than-expected job creation last month. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, well below the 573,000 jobs predicted by economists polled by Dow Jones.

However, the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2%, better than estimates of 4.5%.

Elsewhere in markets, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi announced during Asia trading hours on Friday that it will start delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and make plans to list in Hong Kong instead. Shares fell 22.2%.

Friday's market moves continued a highly volatile streak for stocks as the market digests the new Covid variant omicron and what it means for investors. The omicron variant has now been detected in five U.S. states, with symptoms so far reported as mild.

Despite a rebound on Thursday that saw the Dow rise more than 600 points, the 30-stock average dropped 0.9% for the week. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.6% this week.

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