Oct. 27 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points on Tuesday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed with slight gains as U.S. markets reacted to rising COVID-19 cases.
The blue-chip index dropped 222.19 points, or 0.8%, and the S&P 500 slid 0.3%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.64% as John’s Hopkins University data showed the United States added 66,800 cases and close to 500 additional deaths nationwide.
Boeing stock fell 3.24% to lead the Dow lower, while Caterpillar — often considered a bellwether for both the global and domestic economy — fell 3.15% after it reported a decline in year-over-year earnings.
Airlines also struggled in response to the rising coronavirus cases with American Airlines falling 4.83%, Delta dropped 3.85% and United slid 3.31%.
However, the stay-at-home trade — stocks that benefit from people staying inside — climbed with Shopify rising 4.36%, Zoom gaining 4.09%, Amazon increasing 2.47% and Microsoft ending the day up 1.51%.
Tuesday’s decline came after markets plummeted to start the week and new case totals in the United States neared 300,000 over a four-day period.
