NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Dow hit their lowest levels since late-September on Wednesday as coronavirus cases surged globally and fears of a contested US presidential election next week added to worries.
Shares of hotels, airlines and other companies sensitive to Covid-19-related curbs fell with Wynn Resorts down 3.6% and the S&P 1500 airlines index declining 3.4%. The energy index fell as oil prices tumbled on fears of lower fuel demand.
New cases and hospitalizations set records in the US Midwest, while concerns rose over a national lockdown in France and tighter restrictions in Germany.
A spiraling pandemic and a failure to reach a deal on a fresh round of US fiscal stimulus before the Nov. 3 election have put the blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 on track to erase their gains for October.
Losses were broad-based with technology stocks weighing the most.
The Big Tech companies - Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook - which are due to report results on Thursday, fell between 3% and 4.7%, weighing the most on the S&P 500.
At 12:31 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 734.41 points, or 2.67% to 26,728.78, the S&P 500 lost 89.95 points, or 2.65% to 3,300.90 and the lost 338.67 points, or 2.96% to 11,092.68.—Reuters
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