Dow drops 430 points on omicron fears | Solar names slide | Wells Fargo’s quality stock picks

The major averages pulled back on Monday.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE MON, DEC 20, 2021 EVENING BRIEF AS OF MON, DEC 20, 2021 • 05:11 ET DJIA 34932.16 -1.23% -433.28 S&P 500 4568.02 -1.14% -52.62 NASDAQ 14980.94 -1.24% -188.74   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 169.75 -1.39 -0.81% INTC 49.60 -1.02 -2.02% MSFT 319.91 -3.89 -1.20% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 169.75 -1.39 -0.81% T 24.19 +0.41 +1.72% F 19.42 -0.35 -1.77% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAPL 169.75 -1.39 -0.81% NVDA 277.19 -0.82 -0.29% CERN 90.49 +0.72 +0.80%   EDITOR'S NOTE Stocks slid to start the week on Monday as investors sold equities in the face of concerning news about the fast-spreading omicron Covid variant.   The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 430 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Blue-chip names like Boeing and Caterpillar, as well as reopening plays like Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts notched losses.    The omicron variant is raging across the world as the winter holiday season approaches. The strain has been found through testing in 43 out of 50 U.S. states and around 90 countries, and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, according to the World Health Organization.     "Today was the perfect storm. Huge spikes in Omicron, [Build Back Better] falls apart, the Fed is now hawkish, Davos was postponed, and overall worries that Santa could give investors coal this December are giving the bears a lot of confidence today," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.   The S&P 500 dropped 3.01% over the past three days, marking the worst decline over a three-day span since September. Energy stocks were also pressured by a drop in U.S. oil prices on Monday. Devon Energy and Exxon Mobil lost 2.4% and 1.4%, respectively.   Monday's losses brought the S&P 500 to roughly flat for the month of December. The Dow is up about 1.3%, and the Nasdaq is down nearly 3.6% this month. Maggie Fitzgerald | CNBC Markets Reporter @mkmfitzgerald Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter. TOP NEWS  Stocks slide to start the week as omicron fears intensify, Dow falls 430 points Moderna says Covid booster appears to protect against omicron New York City expects omicron infections to rapidly surge but peak in a matter of weeks, mayor say Senate will vote on Biden's social spending plan next year despite Manchin's opposition Elon Musk says he will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year Oracle to buy medical records company Cerner in its biggest acquisition ever Solar stocks are sliding amid policy headwinds. Wall Street analysts say buy these names Wells Fargo says the probability of a correction is rising, so hide out in these quality stocks Trump sues NY Attorney General Letitia James to block probe into his company Some strategists see shades of Christmas past in sell-off – and a rebound ahead   TOP VIDEO Market slammed by concerns over the omicron variant's impact on the global economy — Five experts weigh in   CNBC PRO Bank of America strategist Hartnett likes these 'best of breed' stocks for 2022   SPECIAL REPORTS Backdoor Roth 401(k) and IRA rules for the wealthy survive — for now Home flipping is getting more competitive – and less profitable   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2021 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS Watch our live stream for all you need to know to invest smarter.