Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting a strong payroll report on Friday, with 581,000 jobs added after October’s 531,000 payrolls.

What Happened

The outlook comes as the Dow dropped 905 points on Friday, while the S&P 500 came down 2.3%, and the Nasdaq dipped 2.2% on the same day.

The markets are reacting to uncertainty over a new COVID-19 variant identified by researchers in South Africa. The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday, and Australia found two cases.

Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have also been identified in several other European countries, along with Israel and Hong Kong.

What’s Next

Investors will be hearing from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell as he and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday to discuss the coronavirus and the CARES Act stimulus package.

Meanwhile, OPEC+ will be meeting Thursday, after the group said it would continue to increase production by 400,000 barrels monthly. The U.S. has announced plans to release 50 million barrels from strategic petroleum reserves in an attempt to lower the price of fuel.