US open: Stocks mixed as omicron fears take a back seat

As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.33% at 35,038.66, while the S&P 500 was 0.44% firmer at 4,558.18 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.46% weaker at 15,016.75.

The Dow opened 458.58 points higher on Monday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session after the Labor Department revealed that job growth had been slower-than-expected in November.

Tech shares were putting pressure on the Nasdaq Composite at the open, with electric carmaker Tesla, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet all weighing on the index, after a sharp drop in the value of bitcoin over the weekend and a move by investors to move away from tech stocks with high valuations.

Bitcoin, which traded at around $57,000 on Friday morning, plunged to roughly $43,000 on Saturday before clawing back some of its losses early on Monday to about $48,100.

Reopening plays like United, Delta Airlines, Carnival and Wynn Resorts were all trading higher despite news that the Covid-19 omicron variant had now been discovered in at least 15 US states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's director Dr Rochelle Walensky.

White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci stated initial data on omicron was "encouraging".

"Clearly, in South Africa, omicron has a transmission advantage," said Fauci. "Although it's too early to make any definitive statements about it, thus far it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it."

No major corporate earnings or data points were scheduled for release on Monday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $210.58 4.02%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $166.97 3.17%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $418.03 2.51%
American Express Co. (AXP) $159.42 2.23%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $47.56 2.21%
3M Co. (MMM) $176.39 2.20%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.17 2.06%
Visa Inc. (V) $200.31 2.03%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $253.98 1.86%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.53 1.85%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $253.26 -1.96%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $321.04 -0.61%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $73.13 -0.28%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $170.01 -0.14%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.85 0.83%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $138.80 0.94%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $115.51 0.96%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $199.81 1.02%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $11.54 6.56%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $51.10 5.47%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.52 5.42%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $42.67 5.07%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $17.52 4.78%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $37.68 4.72%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $50.60 4.18%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $17.91 4.13%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,201.26 4.11%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $210.58 4.02%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $286.71 -6.59%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $137.00 -4.87%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $19.27 -4.70%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $207.95 -4.20%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $292.79 -3.31%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $245.09 -2.54%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $337.07 -2.17%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $253.26 -1.96%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $83.61 -1.95%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $143.02 -1.92%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.52 5.42%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,201.26 4.11%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $210.58 4.02%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $83.32 4.02%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $161.54 3.83%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $166.97 3.17%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $390.00 2.95%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $61.75 2.69%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.11 2.58%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $36.74 2.51%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $286.71 -6.59%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $207.95 -4.20%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $75.63 -2.98%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $986.49 -2.81%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $750.40 -2.74%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $337.07 -2.17%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $83.61 -1.95%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $143.02 -1.92%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $103.44 -1.86%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $262.35 -1.74%