Wall Street retreats as Trump tests positive for COVID-19
Reuters
Published Oct 02, 2020 07:30
Updated Oct 02, 2020 11:12
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Devik Jain
(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday after two straight sessions of gains as news that President Donald Trump had contracted COVID-19 stirred up political uncertainty just weeks before the election.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were down, but were off session lows as data showing a slowdown in U.S. job growth in September raised hopes that Washington would agree on a new fiscal stimulus.
Energy (SPNY), the worst performing sector so far this year, lost 1.5% on the back of a more than 3% drop in oil prices, but utilities (SPLRCU) and materials (SPLRCM) edged higher in morning trading.
"Markets have demonstrated an aversion to uncertainty, not so much to one or the other candidate winning," said Roberto Perli, head of global policy research at Cornerstone Macro in Washington.
"However, markets are also paying attention to the likelihood that another stimulus package will pass soon. If that happens it could offset, at least in part, the uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 news."
Meanwhile, the White House tried to reassure Americans that Trump was still working from isolation after his tweet about him and first lady Melania testing positive for COVID-19 rankled global financial markets.
At 10:43 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 0.90%, the S&P 500 (SPX) was down 0.87% and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) was down 1.17%.
The risk-off mood sparked a broad-based decline, with banks <.SPXBK> tracking Treasury yields lower and tech mega-caps, which generally tend to outperform at a time of economic uncertainty, shedding more than 1%.
Tesla Inc (O:TSLA) slipped 2.6% even as it reported record vehicle deliveries in the third quarter.
Trading on Wall Street turned choppy last month, with the S&P 500 snapping a five-month gaining streak, as economic data indicated a long road to pre-pandemic levels and Congress deliberated over the next round of fiscal stimulus.
With a bipartisan deal eluding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $2.2 trillion Democratic plan on fiscal aid, but objections from top Republicans are likely to doom the plan in the Senate.
American Airlines (O:AAL) and United Airlines (O:UAL), which began laying off 32,000 workers after government funding program expired this week, fell 2.2% and 2.6%, respectively.
"Despite the fact that positive news has been made of ongoing talks between Mnuchin and Pelosi, we've been skeptical that a breakthrough was possible prior to the election," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The CBOE volatility index (VIX), known as Wall Street's fear gauge, shot up to a one-week high.
Get The App
Declining issues outnumbered advancers 2.65-to-1 on the NYSE and 2.43-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 22 new lows.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.