Dow futures on Thursday fell nearly 500 points, or more than 1.3%, in a broad premarket decline as Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo for the upcoming Summer Olympics and as countries deal with a rebound in Covid cases due to variants. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also dropped about 1.3% each.
- Premarket losses were led by companies that would benefit from a rapid economic comeback from the virus, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean as well as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
- Major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, were also sharply lower.
Thursday’s selling came one day after Wall Street’s rally had resumed, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finishing at record high closes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.3% shy of Friday’s record close.
Investors rotated into the perceived safety of bonds Thursday, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield below 1.26% to the lowest since late February. Bond yields move inversely to prices.