Stocks suffered their worst back-to-back rout since October 2020 as Jerome Powell reiterated his pivot to inflation vigilance and the omicron variant continued to spread, with the U.S. confirming its first case.
In a very volatile session, the S&P 500 erased gains after climbing almost 2% earlier Wednesday. It was the biggest reversal since April 2020 amid strong trading volume. The Russell 2000 Index of small caps sank about 2.5%. Airlines, cruise operators and hotels also slumped. Investors flocked to the relative safety of Treasuries, with the yield on the 30-year note near 1.75%.
