Stocks rebound as omicron fears ease, oil jumps

U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst session of the year as investors assess omicron, the new COVID-19 variant and reports it may not be as bad as initially feared. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 300 points or 0.9%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped 1% and 1.3%, respectively. The snapback comes after stocks suffered the worst drop of the year Friday as fears about the variant ripped through financial markets. 

Oil also rebounded over 6% to the $72 per barrel level, a positive barometer for energy stocks. 

In an interview with FOX on Friday, Atlanta Fed President Rapheal Bostic gave his assessment of the variant.  "With each successive variant that's been introduced, the economy has slowed down, but the amount of slowdown has been less." If the omicron variant, he adds, follows a similar trajectory as the Delta variant, we will see slowing, but not as great as during the Delta variant surge.