At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index stumbled 943.24 points, or 3.43%, to 26,519.95. The S&P 500 index fell 119.65 points, or 3.53%, to 3,271.03. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index sank 426.48 points, or 3.73%, to 11,004.87.
Market mood dented amid renewed concerns over the pace of the global economic recovery from the pandemic after alarming rise in novel coronavirus cases in some European countries and the United States. Twelve U.S. states set records for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, while Germany and France announced plans to shut large swathes of public life for a month as the pandemic surged across Europe.
The U.S. has averaged more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week, with 29 states setting new records this month for the most new daily cases since the pandemic began in February. More than 8.78 million cases have been reported nationwide and at least 226,000 people have died of COVID-19, according to data from John Hopkins University (JHU). According to JHU, the average number of daily new cases this past week is up 21% compared to the previous week.The jump in new infections has also been accompanied by an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, leading to worries about new lockdowns.
A spiraling pandemic and a failure to reach a deal on a fresh round of US fiscal stimulus before the Nov. 3 election have put the blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 on track to erase their gains for October.
Besides the coronavirus and US fiscal stimulus, investors are also jittery over the US presidential election. Polls showing a tightening of the race in Florida and some other swing states have increased concerns about a potentially contested outcome.
Shares of hotels, airlines and other leisure-related companies sensitive to COVID-19-related turmoil sank, with the S&P 1500 airlines index falling 4.3%. The energy index slid as oil prices tumbled on fears of a deeper drop in fuel demand.
Microsoft shares slid 5.1% after a disappointing forecast. Boeing dropped 4.6% after it said that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs due to a drop in air travel. But General Electric shares jumped 4.5% after posting a surprise quarterly profit.
In US economic data, MBA mortgage applications rose by 1.7% last week. The goods trade deficit decreased by US$3.7 billion to US$79.4 billion in September (survey: -US$84.5 billion). Wholesale inventories fell by 0.1% in September (survey: +0.4%).
Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS fell 3.17% to $14.38, Azure Power Global fell 0.87% to $26.10, Wipro dropped 1.63% to $4.83, WNS Holdings sank 4% to $58.73, Vedanta was up 0.37% to $5.46, and Dr Reddys Labs declined 4.6% to $64.89. ICICI Bank fell 5.38% to $10.56, HDFC Bank shed 2.22% to $58.57, and Tata Motors dropped 6.65% to $8.85.
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