• The Nasdaq fell 1.55% to close Tuesday’s session at 15,538 points.
• Salesforce tumbled 5.95% after hours as guidance fell short of expectations.
• Novavax shares jumped more than 7% on the move to develop a new vaccine.

The US markets tumbled for the second time in the last three trading sessions as investor fears of the potential economic impact of the Omicron variant were increased, alongside the comments made by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell that it ‘would be more appropriate for the central bank to consider wrapping up its tapering of asset purchases more quickly’.

The Dow Jones fell 1.86% to finish the trading day down 652 points to close at 34,484 points .

The tech heavy NASDAQ fell 1.55% to finish the trading day down 245 points to close at 15,538 points

One bitcoin is worth US$57,224 going into the Asian trading day.

The Australian dollar is firm against the major currencies and is buying 71.29 US cents.

Shares in cloud-based software company Salesforce tumbled 5.95% after hours following the release of the company’s first full quarter results since acquiring Slack. Despite beating analysts expectations for revenue at US$6.86bn, and EPS at US$1.27/share, Salesforce fell short of market expectations for the December quarter guidance, announcing expectations of EPS between 72 and 73 US cents compared to analysts expectations of 81 US cents.

Novavax shares jumped more than 7% on Tuesday as the biotech company revealed it is developing a version of its COVID-19 vaccine that targets the new Omicron variant. Investors are also piling into vaccine maker shares like Novavax as the new variant may drive demand for more vaccine and booster shot sales. Novavax has also filed for authorisations for administration of its vaccine in Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK.

And Elon Musk has sent an email to all SpaceX employees warning of an emerging crisis with the company’s Raptor engine production that could result in the company’s bankruptcy if unsolved.