Global stock markets sink over concerns of second COVID wave
US stocks fell sharply on Monday, extending last week’s declines, as concerns about coronavirus cases in the United States and other countries sparked fears of a second wave of the pandemic and more business re-closures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank over 800 points, or around three percent at the opening bell. Both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped over two percent.
It’s been a rough month so far for the market and technology shares in particular. The S&P 500 is off five percent so far in September, while the Nasdaq Composite is in correction territory, down more than 10 percent from its recent record high.
“It seems like the biggest reason for the decline in most global stock markets is the concern that tighter virus restrictions in Europe will result from the new spike in Covid cases now that the colder weather is upon us,” Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note seen by CNBC.
European stocks were also trading lower on Monday, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 and the London FTSE down over three percent.
Also on rt.com Senior UK govt adviser claims Covid-19 antibodies fade over time, warns of nearly 50,000 cases per day by mid-OctoberThe market reaction comes as cases surge in both Europe and parts of the US heading into the fall and winter, when the spread of the virus could accelerate as people spend more time inside. Covid-19-related deaths in the US neared 200,000, and new cases have risen significantly in Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota over the past week.
“Investors are becoming increasingly worried about the momentum in the economic recovery given the resurgent numbers of global Covid-19 cases,” the chief market strategist at FXTM, Hussein Sayed, told CNN.
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