Stocks end lower

A surge in Delta variant infections sparked a broad sell-off on Wall Street on Monday as investors feared renewed COVID-19 shutdowns and a protracted economic recovery. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session sharply lower, with the S&P and the Nasdaq suffering their largest one-day percentage drop since mid-May. Travel and leisure stocks plunged, with the S&P 1500 Airline index shedding 3.8% and the S&P 1500 Hotel and Restaurant index off 2.7%.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 725.81 points, or 2.09%, to 33,962.04, the S&P 500 lost 68.67 points, or 1.59%, to 4,258.49 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 152.25 points, or 1.06%, to 14,274.98.

European shares sank more than 2%, their worst session in nine months on worries that the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant could slow the global economic recovery. Commodity-linked stocks, banks and travel shares lost more than 3%, with the oil and travel and leisure indices hitting February lows. Extending losses from last week, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 2.3%, with all sectors in the red. The German DAX dropped 2.6%, while Italy’s MIB plunged 3.3%, its steepest one-day drop since October. UK’s FTSE 100 slumped 2.3% as rising coronavirus cases overshadowed optimism about England’s reopening of the economy.

Maltese markets meanwhile remained mostly subdued, with the MSE Equity Total Return Index closing down 0.208 percent at 7,981.077 points as only one stock recorded a change in price. Tigne Mall Plc fell 19.33 percent to €0.605 after a single trade of 1,000 shares.

Source: Reuters, Malta Stock Exchange

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