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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply on Thursday, erasing its gains for the week, amid renewed concerns over the coronavirus and its impact on the economy.
The 30-stock blue-chip index stumbled 361.19 points, or 1.4%, to 25,706.09
The S&P 500 shed 17.89 points to 3,152.05
The tech-heavy NASDAQ recovered from an earlier decline to gain 55.25 points to 10,547.75.
Since last week’s close, the S&P 500 gained 1.3%, the Dow improved 0.9% and NASDAQ strengthened 2.8%. The NASDAQ is up 29.7% over the last three months.
Walgreens was the biggest laggard in the Dow, dropping 8.2% on weaker-than-expected earnings for the previous quarter. Walgreens also suspended a share repurchase program. Boeing also fell more than 3%.
Shares of companies that would benefit from the economy reopening struggled. United Airlines, Delta and American all fell more than 4%. Carnival Corp dropped 3.6% and Royal Caribbean slid 5.3%. Kohl’s declined by 7.4%.
Stocks hit their lows of the day after Florida reported a record in coronavirus-related hospitalizations. The state also reported a record spike in COVID deaths.
Equities recovered slightly, however, after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate will likely enter phase 3 trials by the end of July.
But gains in some of the biggest tech-related names capped the losses Thursday. Amazon rose 1.2% to an all-time high. Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple were up slightly.
These stocks have outperformed this week as investors grow concerned the recent global coronavirus spikes could prolong the current economic downturn and force people to stay home for longer.
More than three million coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S. alone, according to Johns Hopkins University. Globally, over 12 million cases have been confirmed.
The U.S. Labor Department said 1.314 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 1.39 million. Continuing claims fell by 698,000 to 18.06 million.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury rose sharply, dropping yields to 0.61% from Wednesday’s 0.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.41 to $39.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted 12 dollars to $1,808.60 U.S. an ounce.
