GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slide as Omicron worries push investors to safe havens

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.22 points, or 1.86%, to 34,483.72, the S&P 500 lost 88.26 points, or 1.90%, to 4,567.01, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 245.14 points, or 1.55%, to 15,537.69.

NEW YORK: Global stock benchmarks and oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after drugmaker Moderna warned that existing vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the new coronavirus variant, spurring investors to pile into safe-haven assets such as government bonds and the yen.

"There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level," Moderna's chief executive, Stephane Bancel, told the Financial Times in an interview, comparing the effectiveness against the new Omicron variant to prior variants.