The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 900 points Wednesday as investors continued to fret over bad news surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.
The blue-chip index dropped 943.24 points, or 3.43%, while the S&P 500 fell 3.53% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 3.73% as infection increases in the United States and in Europe soured traders on a quick recovery.
“Investors’ hopes that the COVID pandemic would not force further stringent mitigations measures and/or potential wholesale lockdowns that would push global economies back into ‘low-consumption mode’ appear to be coming under challenge,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX. “Avoiding these stringent measures has been a major tenant of the bullish thesis, particularly for those looking to value stocks and for a steeper yield curve.”
The United States reported about 73,200 new cases on Tuesday, with a total of 503,000 new cases over the past seven days.
Stocks that benefited from the widespread reopening of business and resumption of travel struggled Wednesday as Carnival stock fell 10.61%, Norwegian Cruise Line dropped 9.07% and Royal Caribbean declined 7.42%, while Delta Air Lines stocks slid 3.45%.
