US equity markets relinquished solid gains to settle lower after the country recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus – the Dow staged a 983-point U-turn to settle -462-points or -1.34% lower at 34,022.04, unwinding an earlier +520-point/+1.5% rally and settling below its 200-day moving average (34,361.27) for the first time since July. Salesforce.Com Inc tumbled -11.74% after the customer relationship management company provided disappointing fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) guidance after the close of the previous session. The broader S&P500 lost -1.18% to 4,513.04, closing below its 50-day moving average (4,539.32) for the first time since 13 October. Communication Services (down -1.98%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.86%) both fell over >1.5% to lead ten of the eleven primary sectors lower, with seven sectors logging declines of over >1%. Utilities (up +0.16%) was the only primary sector to close in the black. General Motors Co edged +0.33% higher after the automaker slightly raised its 2021 earnings guidance (to ~US14B from US$11.5B-to-US$13.5B previously) on strong pricing, resilient consumer demand and a stronger-than-expected supply of semiconductor chips. The Nasdaq dropped -1.83% after rallying as much as +1.8% earlier in the session. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 shed -2.18% to mark its first official correction since June of 2020. Some commentators also cited tax loss selling as a factor for the recent weakness.