Dow Jones Plunges 700 Points As Investors Worry About COVID Resurgence
Stock markets plunged on Wednesday as Wall Street’s concerns grew about a spike in new coronavirus cases, reducing optimism towards economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 2.7%, over 700 points, on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 fell 2.6% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.2%.
Stocks losses accelerated after the session opened, taking hits from growing fears of a re-emergence of coronavirus infections across the U.S. as states lift lockdown orders.
New cases in the U.S. on Tuesday hit the highest level since April, with the nation’s 3 most populated states, Texas, Florida, and California, all reporting a record-high number of new cases.
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut announced on Wednesday that they will require visitors from Florida, Texas, and other states with a spike in new cases to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.
White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that many states are beginning to see a disturbing surge in new coronavirus cases, though he remained upbeat about a potential vaccine arriving by early 2021.
Shares of companies that would benefit from the economy reopening, including retailers, airlines, and cruise operators, all fell on Wednesday as a result.
Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line stock fell by over 10%.
Shares of Dell Technologies jumped over 8% after the Wall Street Journal reported late on Tuesday that the company is exploring options, including a possible spinoff or sale of its $50 billion stakes in cloud computing company VMWare.
Despite recent market volatility, the Nasdaq posted its eighth straight day of gains on Tuesday, hitting a new intra-day record high for the first time since June 10th. The index was boosted by several big tech stocks, including Apple, Amazon, and Netflix, each hitting new all-time highs. The Dow and S&P 500 both finished slightly higher, recovering from earlier losses when White House trade advisor Peter Navarro back-tracked on his previous statement saying that the China trade deal is “over”, insisting that his comments were “taken wildly out of context” and that the Phase 1 trade deal “continues in place”.
