US Stocks drops on fears over new coronavirus strain

The US stocks mostly declined in turbulent session on Monday, 21 December 2020, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 settled lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average all finished higher. The weaker finish of Wall Street was due to renewed worries over a new variant of the coronavirus that overshadowed the news of a second pandemic relief bill that was agreed to in Washington late Sunday.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 37.40 points, or 0.12%, to 30,216.45. The S&P 500 index was down 14.49 points, or 0.39%, to 3,694.92. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined by 13.12 points, or 0.1%, to 12,742.52.

The US market was grappled by risk-off environment after news that the E.U. was banning U.K. flights to Europe. A more-virulent strain of the coronavirus in Britain sparked fears of fresh disruptions and weighed on investors' expectations of a vaccine-led economic rebound. The strain, which is said to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original, forced many countries to shut their borders with the United Kingdom.

The downward swing in U.S. equities came despite news that the U.S. Congress was planning to pass a 900-billion stimulus bill. Congress hammered out a pandemic relief agreement on Sunday after months of partisan wrangling. The $900 billion package, expected to pass on Monday, includes unemployment aid and steers money to small businesses, airlines, transit systems and vaccine distribution.

On Monday the Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use in the E.U., following Friday's news that the Moderna vaccine was approved for emergency use in the U.S.

Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, led down by Energy and Utility shares. Financials bucked the trend.

Among Indian ADR, HDFC Bank fell 2.97% to $68.35, ICICI Bank dropped 3.12% to $13.68, INFOSYS slid 1.79% to $15.93, Dr Reddys Labs shed 3.35% to $68.18, and Vedanta sank 7.63% to $7.51. Wipro fell 2.59% to $5.26, WNS Holdings shed 1.66% to $70.31, and Tata Motors fell 8.13% to $11.19. Azure Power Global added 17.28% to $35.57.

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