Global stocks dipped on Thursday, as traders weighed new restrictions aimed at tackling the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant along with questions about the direction of monetary policy.
The technology focused Nasdaq Composite index closed 1.7 per cent lower, hitting a session low just before the bell. Shares in exercise bike company Peloton fell 11.4 per cent, while Tesla ceded 6.1 per cent. Media company BuzzFeed, which went public earlier this week, gave up 23.6 per cent.
Wall Street’s blue-chip S&P 500 index slipped 0.7 per cent, also hitting session lows near the close. The equity gauge had ended the previous session within reach of its all-time closing high, wiping out almost all of its losses sustained in volatile trading since the emergence of Omicron rattled markets in late November.