S&P 500 down more than 2% - Dow closes 650 points lower, posts worst day since early September
Stocks fell sharply on Monday as coronavirus infections jumped and negotiations for a fiscal stimulus package before the election stalled once again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 650.19 points lower, or 2.3%, at 27,685.38. The S&P 500 slid 1.9% to 3,400.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.6% to 11,358.94. Monday’s decline erased the monthly gains for the Dow Industrials. It was the Dow’s biggest one-day drop since Sept. 3 and its first close below 28,000 since Oct. 6. The Dow briefly fell as much as 965.41 points, or 3.4%.
The decline came as data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. have risen by an average of 68,767 over the past seven days, a record. On Sunday alone, more than 60,000 cases were reported. The country saw more than 83,000 new infections on both Friday and Saturday after outbreaks in Sun Belt states, surpassing a previous record of roughly 77,300 cases set in July.
“To me, this is Phase 2 of the pandemic,” said Frank Rybinski, chief macro strategist at Aegon Asset Management. “Until we get some eradication of the virus, it’s going to be like a gray cloud” over the market. Rybinski added his firm has been “reducing risk” from its portfolios in recent months.
Reference: CNBC
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