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U.S. stock futures dropped in overnight trading on Thursday as investors geared up for a shortened trading day amid renewed Covid fears over a new variant found in South Africa.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 400 points, while those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were both in negative territory.
The downward move in futures came after WHO officials on Thursday warned of a new Covid-19 variant that's been detected in South Africa. The United Kingdom temporarily suspended flights from six African countries due to the variant.
Asia markets were hit hard in Friday trade, with Japan's Nikkei 225 plunging about 3% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell more than 2%.
Oil prices also tumbled during
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