S& P 500 falls 3.5% as virus cases lead to shutdowns

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 943 points Wednesday as surging coronavirus cases forced more shutdown measures in Europe and raised fears of more restrictions in the U. S.

The S& P 500 slid 3.5%, its third straight loss and its biggest drop since June. The benchmark index is already down 5.6% this week, on track for its biggest weekly decline since March. That’s when the market was in the midst of selling off as strict lockdowns around the world choked the economy into recession.

The selling in U. S. markets followed broad declines in Europe, where the French president announced tough measures to slow the virus’ spread and German officials agreed to impose a fourweek partial lockdown. The measures may not be as stringent as the shutdown orders that swept the world early this year, but the worry is they could still hit the already weakened global economy.

In the U. S., cases are increasing in just about every state, and the number of deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID- 19 are on the rise.

“Many people had come to believe we were at least stable, and now we’re having a second uptick, which throws potential GDP and everything else up in the air,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. ” I did not expect this level of volatility or this degree of a sell- off.”

The S& P 500 lost 119.65 points to 3,271.03. The Dow lost 943.24 points, or 3.4%, to 26,519.95. The Nasdaq composite slumped 426.48 points, or 3.7%, to 11,004.87. The selling was widespread, and 96% of stocks in the S& P 500 fell.

Crude oil tumbled on worries that an economy already weakened by the virus would consume even less energy. Benchmark U. S. crude dropped 5.7% to $ 37.39 per barrel.

“The market never likes uncertainty,” said Stephanie Roth, portfolio macro analyst at J. P. Morgan Private Bank. “People are just taking profits ahead of the election, to some extent.”