Stocks - Wall Street Slides as New York Covid-19 Infections Jump
Investing.com – Wall Street fell back into the red midday Tuesday, as investors continued to monitor a jump in Covid-19 infections in New York state, the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S.
The Dow fell 0.66%, or 148 points, but was up about 131 points at session at the highs of the day. The S&P 500 slipped 1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.55%.
In New York state, coronavirus infections jumped 14% overnight to 75,795, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded that the virus is more dangerous than expected.
"I’m tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus from day one," Cuomo said. "We underestimated this virus. It’s more powerful, it’s more dangerous than we expected."
The U.S. reported nearly 11,000 new cases since Monday, taking the total to about 174,000, with about 3,400 dead so far.
Defensive corners of the market like real estate and utilities were shunned as investors positioned thier portfolio for the quarter-end.
Energy, however, proved an exception to the decline, rising 3%, on growing hopes Saudi Arabia and Russia may call a truce on their price war in an effort to stabilize the market.