KEY POINTS
  • As markets tumbled this week on news of the Covid omicron variant and on inflation concerns, some of the worst performers were stay-at-home stocks.
  • DocuSign, Etsy, DoorDash and Zoom all tumbled, while HP, Apple and Cisco saw gains.
  • "It's been a wild one," said Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners who invests in cloud software.

In this article

A trader working after the Nasdaq opening bell ceremony on April 18, 2019 in New York City.

A funny thing happened on the way to the stock market's retreat.

Stay-at-home stocks that benefitted most from Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdowns, like Etsy, DoorDash, Zoom and DocuSign, were the worst performers this week. It's the opposite reaction that one might expect as the new Covid omicron variant, which the World Health Organization said poses a "very high" global risk, makes its way around the world.

In this article