Stocks slide as virus spreads

NEW YORK — U. S. stocks pulled back on Thursday, amid increasing worries about worsening coronavirus counts across the country.

Markets around the world have taken a pause after galloping higher this month, at first on expectations that Washington will continue several pro-business policies following last week's U.S. elections. More recently, encouraging early results for a potential COVID-19 vaccine have investors envisioning a global economy returning to normal.

The S&P 500 index lost 35.65 points, or 1%, to 3,537.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 317.46 points, or 1.1%, to 29,080.17 and the Nasdaq composite lost 76.84 points, or 0.7%, to 11,709.59.

Analysts are still largely optimistic the market can climb even higher, largely because they see a potential vaccine as a game changer.

Despite the declines, the S&P 500 and Dow are both close to their record highs.

But several risks remain that could trip up markets in the near term.

Rising above them all is the continuing pandemic, with daily counts climbing in nearly every state.

The trends are worsening enough in New York, for example, that the state is ordering restaurants, bars and gyms to close at 10 p.m. each night, beginning Friday.

New York had been a hotbed for the virus early in the year but had seemed to have gotten it largely under control. In Europe, several governments have brought back even tougher restrictions that will likely restrain the economy.

“From a health standpoint and economic standpoint, the very near term looks relatively bleak,” said Mike Dowdall, investment strategist with BMO Global Asset Management.

But while he says more volatility may hit the market in the near term as governments bring back restrictions, he's still optimistic about its prospects into next year.

“If you think back to the dark days of March, you didn't know how far we were from normalization,” he said. “People were saying it may be years. But the backdrop from a markets standpoint is just a lot different than it was in March.”

Beyond the vaccines in development, which could get everyday life closer to normal, he cited the Federal Reserve, which has already shown it can roll out bondbuying programs swiftly to support markets.