US retail stocks slide on Black Friday as new virus worries arise

Little is known of the variant, detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, but scientists say it has an unusual combination of mutations

Shares of U.S. department-store operators slid on Friday as the detection of a new coronavirus variant possibly resistant to existing vaccines compounded woes stemming from low in-store visits and thin holiday season inventories.

Retailers have turned Black Friday, which kicks off the holiday shopping season, into a month-long event this year in the face of supply chain hiccups and a labor squeeze, with customers preferring to shop online since the pandemic began last year.

Macy's Inc shed 6%, while Kohl's Corp and Nordstrom Inc dropped about 3.5% each.

The S&P 500 slumped 0.8% as the new COVID-19 variant prompted border tightening in the