RPT-US STOCKS-Futures tumble on fears over new coronavirus strain

(Repeats with no changes to text or headline)
* Futures fall: Dow 1.95%, S&P 2.17%, Nasdaq 1.39%

By Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick
Dec 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures tumbled on
Monday as fears over a new strain of the coronavirus that has
shut down much of Britain overshadowed a $900 billion stimulus
package deal.
The strain, which is said to be up to 70% more transmissible
than the original, forced major European countries to shut their
borders with the UK and sowed fears of further economic
disruptions. Travel stocks fell in premarket trading, with Delta Air
Lines Inc DAL.N , United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O and
American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O slumping between 4.8% and
5.3%. Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL.N , Carnival
Corp CCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH.N fell
between 8.4% and 9.5%.
The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX , also known as Wall
Street's "fear gauge", jumped 29.7 points to its highest level
since early November.
At 6:22 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 588 points,
or 1.95%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 80.5 points, or
2.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 176.5 points, or
1.39%.
U.S. congressional leaders reached an agreement on Sunday on
a $900 billion package to provide fresh aid to the
virus-stricken economy, with the bill likely to be voted into
effect later in the day. Optimism over the bill had seen Wall
Street indexes reach record highs last week. Bank of America Corp BAC.N , Morgan Stanley MS.N ,
Citigroup Inc C.N , Goldman Sachs GS.N JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM.N rose between 1.3% and 2.9% after the U.S. Federal
Reserve highlighted strong capital levels at the banks in the
results of its second "stress test" for 2020. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O , which has soared more
than 730% so far this year, fell 5.7% ahead of its much
anticipated debut into the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX .
Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N fell 1.6% after it agreed to
buy U.S. rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings
Inc AJRD.N for $4.4 billion. Shares of Aerojet Rocketdyne were
up 27.3%.
Planemaker Boeing Co BA.N slipped 6.7% on a U.S. Senate
report saying Boeing officials "inappropriately coached" test
pilots during recertification efforts.