Delta fears grip economy as cases jump across the country

The delta variant of the coronavirus is sweeping through the United States, raising the average number of cases to 30,000 per day, crowding hospitals in areas with large numbers of unvaccinated people and spurring questions about the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

Stocks tanked Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 725 points after being down more than 900 points at one time.

It was the worst one-day performance in the Dow since October, and followed losses in markets around the world as investor fears about how the delta variant might slow both the health and economic recovery took hold.