Stocks closed in the red at the end of Friday's session as concerns about Omicron and the Federal Reserve's tighter monetary policy won over market sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 530 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1% for a second day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq closed slightly down after briefly trading in the green.
For the week, all averages posted losses. The Nasdaq was the biggest loser, falling over 3%, with the Dow and S&P 500 declined 1.7% and 1.9%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
CDC recommends Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson:
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday said she supports the agency's advisory committee's decision to keep Johnson & Johnson's
"Given the current state of the pandemic, both here and around the world, any vaccination is better than no vaccination," Walensky said during a White House press briefing Friday. "Individuals who are unable or unwilling to receive an mRNA vaccine will continue to have access to JNJ COVID-19 vaccines."
On Thursday, the agency's Advisory Committee on Vaccine Practices unanimously recommended the Pfizer
FedEx receives first EVs from General Motor's BrightDrop:
FedEx
"The delivery of the first BrightDrop EV600s is a historic moment, born out of a spirit of collaboration between two leading American companies," said Mitch Jackson, Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx, in a press statement. "At FedEx, transforming our pickup and delivery fleet to electric vehicles is integral to achieving our ambitious sustainability goals announced earlier this year. This collaborative effort shoes how businesses can take action to help usher in a lower emissions future for all."
The first few EV600s were delivered to the FedEx Express facility in Inglewood, California, where they will be housed and operated. FedEx is building charging infrastructure across its network of facilities to support the new vehicle technology. The introduction of the EVs to FedEx's fleet of delivery vehicles is an important step towards the company's goal of taking its global operations carbon neutral by 2040.
JPMorgan fined $200 million by U.S. regulators for employees using WhatsApp:
JPMorgan Chase
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Friday that JPMorgan Securities agreed to pay $125 million after the company admitted to "widespread" record-keeping failures in recent years. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also said Friday that it fined JPMorgan for allowing unapproved communications since at least 2015.
In addition to the SEC's fine, JPMorgan has agreed to hire a compliance consultant to review the bank's policies and training, the SEC said. The bank has already begun upgrades to employee's software to improve compliance, the regulatory agency added.
"As technology changes, it's even more important that registrants ensure that their communications are appropriately recorded and are not conducted outside of official channels in order to avoid market oversight," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a press release.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: -0.35% or -16.17 points to 4,652.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.27% or -97.53 points to 35,800.11
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.94% or -143.67 points to 15,036.77
