The surge in new cases of coronavirus coupled with the continued failure to reach a stimulus agreement drove down all three major economic indicators Monday morning.
The Dow was off more than 730 points, or 2.5%, at 9 a.m. PT; the NASDAQ was down 200 (1.73%) and the S&P 500 shed 72, or more than 2%.
While several states are setting records for new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., Europe, whose major markets were trending downward on Monday, is seeing its own troubling resurgence. In Italy, the government plans to close bars and restaurants at 6 p.m.; in Spain, an 11 p.m. curfew is likely to go into effect soon.
The weekend coronavirus numbers were depressing, with more than 83,000 new infections in the United States on Friday and another 83,000-plus cases on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, topping the prior mark of roughly 77,300 cases in one day in July.
The per-day average of 68,767 cases for the past seven days also set a record.
Despite some hope late last week for a stimulus package, talks sputtered over the weekend.
Larry Kudlow, economic adviser for the White House, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that talks had slowed down, but he noted they are still ongoing.
As for the market, there was optimism if you knew where to look. As of Monday morning, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up more 3% for the month, while the Dow was up 2%.
One expert said in a CNBC report that all is not lost.
“Based on the action in the stock market we’ve seen over the past two weeks, it seems to us that it will take some serious new-news to fuel a significant decline over the next week and a half,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note on Sunday.
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