US Stocks tumble as COVID-19 cases surge

The US stock market finished session steep lower on Monday, 26 October 2020, on fears that rising coronavirus infections in both the U.S. and Europe will dampen business activity and deeper anchor on global economic activity. Meanwhile, losses accelerated as another session passed without a deal for pre-election fiscal stimulus.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index stumbled 650.19 points, or 2.29%, to 27,685.38. The S&P 500 index retreated 64.42 points, or 1.86%, to 3,400.97. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 189.35 points, or 1.64%, to 11,358.94.

The US market saw heavy selloff today as coronavirus counts are spiking in much of the United States and Europe, raising concerns about more damage to the still-weakened economy. The 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. In Europe, Spain's government declared a national state of emergency on Sunday that includes an overnight curfew, while Italy ordered restaurants and bars to close each day by 6 p.m. and shut down gyms, pools and movie theaters.

Meanwhile, diminishing prospect over the White House and Republicans striking a stimulus deal with Democrats before the election also fuelled selloff. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke several times last week on potential deal to send cash to most Americans, restart supplemental benefits for laid-off workers and provide aid to schools, among other things. But deep partisan difference remains on Capitol Hill, and time is running out for anything to happen before Election Day on Nov. 3. Any compromise reached between House Democrats and the White House would also likely face stiff resistance from Republicans in control of the Senate.

Airline stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 5.5%.

Significant weakness was also visible among energy stocks, which moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil. Crude for December delivery tumbled $1.26 to $38.89 a barrel.

Housing, computer hardware software chemical stocks also showed notable moves to the downside amid broad-based weakness on Wall Street.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US New Home Sales Plunge 3.5% In September- US new home sales tumbled by 3.5% to an annual rate of 959,000 in September after jumping by 3% to a revised rate of 994,000 in August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday. The unexpected pullback in new home sales was partly due to a steep drop in sales in the Northeast, which plunged by 28.9% to a rate of 32,000.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS fell 1.97% to $14.92, HDFC Bank fell 1.51% to $59.45, Wipro dropped 2.18% to $4.92, WNS Holdings sank 3.29% to $61.75, Vedanta was down 1.95% to $5.52, Tata Motors fell 2.79% to $9.06, and Dr Reddys Labs sank 0.58% to $66.90. ICICI Bank fell 3.4% to $11.08 and Azure Power Global fell 1.37% to $26.65.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News