U.S. stocks were facing their worst Black Friday trade in recent memory and the decline was putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -2.53% at risk of closing below its 50-day moving average for the first time since mid October, as markets wrestle with reports of a new coronavirus variant.The Dow was down 826 points, or 2.3%, to trade at 34,969, which is below its 50-day MA at 35,261.93. Scientists say the coronavirus strain has a high number of mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade some of the immune responses triggered by previous infection or vaccination. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index SPX, -2.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -2.23% were both trading sharply lower but holding above their short-term MAs. Moving averages are used by technical analysts to gauge short-term and long-term momentum in an asset.
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