Wall Street falls, S&P 500 down 1.2% as global markets swoon

Wall Street slumped Monday as markets tumbled worldwide on worries about the pandemic’s economic pain, though the S&P 500 had pared its losses by the end of the day.

The drops began in Asia as soon as trading opened for the week, and they accelerated in Europe on worries about the possibility of tougher restrictions there to stem rising coronavirus counts.

In the U.S., stocks and Treasury yields weakened, while prices sank for oil and other commodities that a healthy economy would demand.

The S&P 500 fell 38.41 points, or 1.2 percent, to 3,281.06.

It extends the index’s losing streak to four days, its longest since stocks were selling off in February on recession worries. But a last-hour recovery helped the index more than halve its loss of 2.7 percent from earlier in the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 509.72, or 1.8 percent, to 27,147.70 after coming back from an earlier 942 point slide. The Nasdaq composite slipped 14.48, or 0.1 percent, to 10,778.80 after recovering from a 2.5 percent drop.

Wall Street has been shaky this month, and the S&P 500 has dropped 8.4 percent since hitting a record Sept. 2 amid a long list of worries for investors.

Chief among them is fear that stocks got too expensive when coronavirus counts are still worsening, Congress is unable to deliver more aid for the economy, U.S.-China tensions are rising and a contentious U.S. election is approaching.

Investors should expect the stock market to stay volatile, perhaps through the November elections, as they wait for these questions to shake out, said Jason Draho, head of asset allocation for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Monday’s selling was exacerbated by worries about the possibility of more business restrictions in Europe, particularly as the United States heads into flu season, Draho said, and “some investors may be stepping aside.”

David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, noted how Monday’s sharpest drops were concentrated in areas of the market most closely tied to the economy’s strength, such as energy companies and rawmaterial producers.

“It seems to be a broader expression of worry about the economy,“he said.