(CNN) — Investors are getting spooked by the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant spreads across the globe.
The Dow fell 725 points shortly after the opening bell Monday, a drop of 2.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were each 1.7% lower as well.
Investors feared that the Delta coronavirus variant could threaten the US economic recovery. Shares of companies in sectors that were widely thought to benefit most from the reopening of the economy are getting hit the hardest.
Airlines American, United and Delta were all down more than 4%. Cruise operators Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian each fell about 5%.
Energy stocks plummeted as well following a more than 3% drop in oil prices. Chevron and Exxon Mobil were down nearly 3%.The OPEC+ group of nations also agreed over the weekend on a deal to produce more oil, a move that could boost supply and reduce crude prices.
And small American companies were also getting hit particularly hard. The Russell 2000 was down more than 1%. That index primarily holds shares of small cap firms that generate more of their revenue from the United States than international markets.
The still-high number of unvaccinated Americans means vaccination rates have not met the threshold needed to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Most Americans who have not previously been infected or received vaccinations will likely contract the rapidly spreading Delta variant, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration during the Trump administration, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Forty-eight states are now seeing new case numbers surge at least 10% higher than the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Stocks fell Friday as well due to conflicting reports about the health of the US consumer. Retail sales grew surprisingly in June, but a measure of consumer sentiment for July showed that Americans are growing less confident about the economy.
The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which looks at seven measures of market sentiment, is now showing signs of Extreme Fear.
But cloud-based call center software company Five9 was spared from the market sell-off Monday. Shares rose 4% on the news that video conferencing giant Zoom was buying it for nearly $15 billion. Zoom’s stock fell.
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