NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Thursday / December 2
US stocks
The main averages fell sharply after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of omicron in the US on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 461.68 points to 34,022.04 after gaining more than 520 points to the highest level of the day.
The S&P500 closed at 4,513.04, down about 1.2%. The broad market index closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since October 13.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8% to 15,254.05 after climbing as high as 1.8% at the start of the session.
The losses in stocks come after the CDC reported the first case in California of a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant in California, called omicron. Omicron - was first detected in South Africa last week - has been reported in at least 23 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
Travel stocks fell after news of the first case in the continental US. American Airlines fell nearly 8%, Delta Air Lines 7.3% and United Airlines 7.5%. Aerospace company Boeing lost 4.8%.
China-US military tensions
Senior US official said on Wednesday that as US-Chinese tensions escalate, with Washington turning to the Indo-Pacific, the US Army is preparing for any possible conflict with China by focusing on bases, logistics and long-range missiles suitable for large ranges of the region.
US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said that economic pressure and diplomacy remained the best tools to prevent a "kinetic" conflict between the forces of the two nations.
“The best strategy is to make sure that our deterrent posture is sufficiently strong that President Xi, every day, to the extent that he might think about trying to forcibly reunify with Taiwan, decides that today is not the day to do that,” added Wormuth.
Military summit
Top military officials from China and the US are preparing to meet amid heightened tensions over Taiwan and a hypersonic arms race.
People familiar with the matter said the two armies are in contact US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the China Central Military Commission, and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, Hong Kong-based SCMP reported.
US-Russia tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia is making plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine, and that if Moscow is invaded, the US will respond with a series of "high-impact" economic measures.
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Wednesday, Blinken said Russia's plans include large-scale military operations, as well as efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within.
Blinken offered the clearest US assessment ever of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions.
Blinken will meet with his senior Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday.
Meanwhile Russia said on Wednesday it has instructed US Embassy personnel who have been in Moscow for more than three years to leave Russia by January 31.
The latest step in the escalating diplomatic dispute comes after Russia's ambassador to the United States said last week that 27 Russian diplomats and their families will leave on January 30, as the United States expels them.
Washington said the diplomats were not being expelled, but had to leave as they were on a new three-year limit for foreign diplomats.
"We … intend to respond appropriately to this. US Embassy staff who have been in Moscow for more than three years should leave Russia by January 31," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a media briefing
The main averages fell sharply after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of omicron in the US on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 461.68 points to 34,022.04 after gaining more than 520 points to the highest level of the day.
The S&P500 closed at 4,513.04, down about 1.2%. The broad market index closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since October 13.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.8% to 15,254.05 after climbing as high as 1.8% at the start of the session.
The losses in stocks come after the CDC reported the first case in California of a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant in California, called omicron. Omicron - was first detected in South Africa last week - has been reported in at least 23 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
Travel stocks fell after news of the first case in the continental US. American Airlines fell nearly 8%, Delta Air Lines 7.3% and United Airlines 7.5%. Aerospace company Boeing lost 4.8%.
China-US military tensions
Senior US official said on Wednesday that as US-Chinese tensions escalate, with Washington turning to the Indo-Pacific, the US Army is preparing for any possible conflict with China by focusing on bases, logistics and long-range missiles suitable for large ranges of the region.
US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said that economic pressure and diplomacy remained the best tools to prevent a "kinetic" conflict between the forces of the two nations.
“The best strategy is to make sure that our deterrent posture is sufficiently strong that President Xi, every day, to the extent that he might think about trying to forcibly reunify with Taiwan, decides that today is not the day to do that,” added Wormuth.
Military summit
Top military officials from China and the US are preparing to meet amid heightened tensions over Taiwan and a hypersonic arms race.
People familiar with the matter said the two armies are in contact US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the China Central Military Commission, and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, Hong Kong-based SCMP reported.
US-Russia tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia is making plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine, and that if Moscow is invaded, the US will respond with a series of "high-impact" economic measures.
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Latvian capital, Riga, on Wednesday, Blinken said Russia's plans include large-scale military operations, as well as efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within.
Blinken offered the clearest US assessment ever of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions.
Blinken will meet with his senior Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Thursday.
Meanwhile Russia said on Wednesday it has instructed US Embassy personnel who have been in Moscow for more than three years to leave Russia by January 31.
The latest step in the escalating diplomatic dispute comes after Russia's ambassador to the United States said last week that 27 Russian diplomats and their families will leave on January 30, as the United States expels them.
Washington said the diplomats were not being expelled, but had to leave as they were on a new three-year limit for foreign diplomats.
"We … intend to respond appropriately to this. US Embassy staff who have been in Moscow for more than three years should leave Russia by January 31," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a media briefing
