• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Finance

Here’s what the Delta variant has done to the stock market so far

By
Lee Clifford
Lee Clifford
and
Nicolas Rapp
Nicolas Rapp
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Lee Clifford
Lee Clifford
and
Nicolas Rapp
Nicolas Rapp
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 19, 2021, 6:36 PM ET
Video Poster

Delta is wreaking havoc on the markets.

The surging bull market that started last March — and has pushed the market up an astounding 83% from a year ago — has hit its first serious snag. And many are blaming the highly contagious Delta variant for the selloff.

The first Delta case was logged in the U.S. in March. By mid June, it had become the most common strain. As Fortune’s Erika Fry and Nicolas Rapp reported, according to the CDC, which relies upon genomic surveillance data reported through July 3: “51.7% of new COVID cases are estimated to be caused by the Delta strain of the coronavirus, up from 30.4% for the previous two-week period.”

The stock market, which had been mostly chugging along save for a few dips, began to waver in early July but sustained several days of losses last week. On Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky sounded the alarm about the variant, tweeting: “What’s clear: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” That set the stage for a horrible trading day Monday, with the Dow finishing the day down 726 points or 2.1%, making it the worst trading day of the year. Overall, from its 52-week high of 35,091.56 the Dow is down around 3.2%. The S&P 500 is down 3.1% from its July high of 4,393.68.

That said, those highs were putting stocks at valuations that were hard to fathom. As Fortune‘s Shawn Tully wrote last week, “A highly respected valuation gauge developed by Yale economist and Nobel laureate Robert Shiller hit a mark showing that the S&P 500 is now pricier than in 96% of all quarters over the past 141 years. Put differently, big-cap stocks have been this expensive only 4% of the time in the recorded history of equity markets.”

Whether this patch marks a cooling bull market or merely an inevitable dip on a continued upward trajectory remains to be seen. As LPL Chief Equity Strategist Jeff Buchbinder told Fortune, “With no 5% pullbacks for the S&P 500 since last October, we are due for some volatility, especially considering the S&P 500 is up more than 90% from the March 2020 lows.”

As for which sectors fared the best and worst? Investors bailed out of leisure and travel stocks (think airlines, hotels, cruise stocks) and rotated into some familiar pandemic names such as Peloton and Moderna, which got a boost on news that it is joining the S&P 500. And yes, there was one final name that could not escape Delta’s wrath on Monday: Delta Airlines was down 4%.

Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning.

About the Authors
By Lee CliffordExecutive Editor
LinkedIn icon

Lee Clifford is an Executive Editor at Fortune. Primarily she works with the Enterprise reporting team, which covers Tech, Leadership, and Finance as well as daily news and analysis from Fortune’s most experienced writers.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Nicolas Rapp
By Nicolas RappInformation Graphics Director
LinkedIn icon

Nicolas Rapp is the former information graphics director at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Trump says a ‘final proposal’ for a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines is under consideration
PoliticsAirline industry
Trump says a ‘final proposal’ for a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines is under consideration
By Michelle L. Price, Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
7 hours ago
EBay soars on report that GameStop is preparing a takeover bid
Investingecommerce
EBay soars on report that GameStop is preparing a takeover bid
By Spencer Soper, Cecilia D'Anastasio and BloombergMay 1, 2026
7 hours ago
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, far right, listens as U.S. President Donald Trump,left, speaks during a meeting with oil company executives in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 9. President Trump is aiming to convince oil executives to support his plans in Venezuela, a country whose energy resources he says he expects to control for years to come. US forces seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a sweeping military operation on January 3, with Trump making no secret that control of Venezuela's oil was at the heart of his actions.
EnergyIran
Exxon Mobil CEO sees ‘more to come’ on price spikes from Iran war as Exxon, Chevron beat on earnings despite plunging profits
By Jordan BlumMay 1, 2026
9 hours ago
trump
PoliticsIran
Trump on Iran: ‘They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens’
By Toqa Ezzidin, Munir Ahmed, Collin Binkley and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
11 hours ago
infantino
North AmericaWorld Cup
Fifa’s Infantino predicted sellouts and ‘1,000 years of World Cups at once,’ but fans aren’t biting
By James Robson and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
11 hours ago
cox
C-SuiteWealth
Billionaires have a problem money can’t solve: They don’t know how to talk to their kids
By Nick LichtenbergMay 1, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
Personal Finance
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
17 hours ago
China dominates the world's lithium supply. The U.S. just found 328 years' worth in its own backyard
North America
China dominates the world's lithium supply. The U.S. just found 328 years' worth in its own backyard
By Jake AngeloApril 30, 2026
1 day ago
The U.S. economy is booming — just not where 50 million Americans live
Commentary
The U.S. economy is booming — just not where 50 million Americans live
By Derek KilmerMay 1, 2026
21 hours ago
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
By Preston ForeApril 27, 2026
5 days ago
Accenture's Julie Sweet blew up 50 years of company history. She says the hardest part is still ahead
Conferences
Accenture's Julie Sweet blew up 50 years of company history. She says the hardest part is still ahead
By Nick LichtenbergApril 29, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 1, 2026
17 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.