Oct. 28 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 900 points Wednesday as investors continued to fret over bad news surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.
The blue-chip index dropped 943.24 points, or 3.43%, while the S&P 500 fell 3.53% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 3.73% as infection increases in the United States and in Europe soured traders on a quick recovery.
“Investors’ hopes that the COVID pandemic would not force further stringent mitigations measures and/or potential wholesale lockdowns that would push global economies back into ‘low-consumption mode’ appear to be coming under challenge,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX. “Avoiding these stringent measures has been a major tenant of the bullish thesis, particularly for those looking to value stocks and for a steeper yield curve.”
The United States reported about 73,200 new cases on Tuesday, with a total of 503,000 new cases over the past seven days.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all restaurants in Chicago, the country’s third-largest city, to shut down indoor services starting Friday. Outdoor restaurant services must close by 11 p.m. because of the dramatic rise of cases in the state.
In Denver, the largest city in the Rocky Mountain region, officials this week cut restaurant indoor operating capacity to 25% from 50%. The new restrictions will force gyms, offices and other buildings to cut back indoor hours as well.
Stocks that would benefit from the widespread reopening of business and resumption of travel struggled Wednesday as Carnival stock fell 10.61%, Norwegian Cruise Line dropped 9.07% and Royal Caribbean declined 7.42%, while Delta Air Lines stocks slid 3.45%.
Facebook and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, stock both fell 5.51%, while Twitter dropped 5.34% as the heads of the three companies testified before Congress.
