Wednesday marks the first trading day of the final month of 2021.
U.S. stock futures were higher in overnight trading on Tuesday following a sell-off on Wall Street over fears about the new Covid variant, omicron, and the Federal Reserve mulling a quicker-than-planned taper. Dow futures rose about 60 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.4% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%. The major averages have seen several volatile sessions, starting last Friday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its worst day since October 2020. Stocks rebounded on Monday, only to turn downward again on Tuesday. Wednesday marks the first trading day of the final month of 2021. On Tuesday, the Dow lost more than 650 points. The S&P 500 shed 1.9% and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.6%. The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 tumbled 1.9% as cyclical names dragged on the markets. Stocks hit their session lows when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will discuss speeding up the bond-buying taper at its December meeting. Despite the potential disruption of omicron, the Fed chief said he thinks reducing the pace of monthly bond buys can move quicker than the $15 billion-a-month schedule announced earlier this month.
