The stock market opened with losses Tuesday as a range of economic and financial concerns stoke a volatile week on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down almost 500 points roughly an hour after the Tuesday opening bell, a decline of 1.7 percent. The Dow lost and regained 1,000 points Monday to close with a gain of roughly 100 points.
The Nasdaq composite was down 2.1 percent and the S&P index had declined by 1.8 percent shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Both indexes fell more than 4 percent Monday before reversing those losses in a remarkable afternoon rally.
Stocks have whipsawed throughout January and appeared certain to extend a losing streak Monday driven by concerns about the economic impact of the omicron variant, rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy panel is set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the bank’s plans for steering the U.S. out of high inflation. While the Fed is not expected to hike rates Wednesday, investors will be paying close attention to officials’ views on the economy and the press conference with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.