Several national and international issues have been identified for today’s plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell more than 800 points since the opening bell.
Investors fear more COVID-19 related deaths and business closures as well as Congress’ inability to pass some form of stimulus legislation to help the US economy. Currently, the DOW “dropped 850 points, or just over 3 percent. The S&P 500 lost 2.5 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.3 percent. The major stock averages were all coming off their third consecutive losing week, the market’s longest weekly slide since 2019.”
Chief market strategist at Miller Tabak issued this statement:
“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.”
The passing of Justice Ginsburg has also played a role in today’s selloff. Investors fear Congress will now concentrate more on confirming or denying Trump’s pick for her replacement than passing stimulus legislation or working to keep the government open, which will soon close if Congress doesn’t pass a budget by the end of the month. Trump said earlier Monday morning that he will announce his SCOTUS pick either Friday or Saturday of this week.
