Wall Street closed up shop early today due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but there was no shortage of major market drama. A new, potentially more vaccine-resistant Covid-19 variant was found in South Africa, sparking a massive selloff -- especially in the travel sector -- as investors flocked to safety. This sent bond prices sky-high, while yields bottomed out. The Dow lost just over 900 points for its worst day of 2021 and locked in its third-straight weekly loss. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged triple digits, and the S&P 500 finished deep in the red as well, while both benchmarks also turned in steep losses on the week. On the flip side, the stock market's "fear gauge," or Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX) marked its highest close since Feb. 25 and best week since February 2020.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 34,899.34) shed 905 points or 2.5% for the day and fell 2% for the week. Verizon (VZ) was the only Dow component to turn in a win today, rising 0.3%. American Express (AXP), meanwhile, paced the list of 29 losers, shedding 8.6%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,594.62) lost 106.8 points, or 2.3% for the day, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 15,491.66) fell 353.6, or 2.2% for the day. The indexes shed 2.2% and 3.5%, respectively, this week.

Lastly, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 28.62) added 10 points, or 54% for the day, and 59.1% this week.

OIL TURNS IN WORST DAY IN MONTHS

Oil prices plunged today to their lowest level in 11 weeks, falling below $70 per barrel thanks to a massive selloff sparked by the new Covid-19 strain. Traders are worried about a slowdown in demand, as more countries implement virus-related restrictions. In response, the front-month January-dated crude shed 11.7%, or $9.16 to close at $69.22 for its worst day of 2021. For the week, black gold shed 8.5%, based on the January contract reading.

Conversely, gold prices jumped back above the psychological $1,800 level, as optimism surrounding global economic recovery were dented by the new variant. In turn, traders flocked to bullion for safety. As a result, December-dated gold added $24.60 or 1.4%, at $1,808.90 today, but shed over 2% for the week.