DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – US stocks on Monday went into a bumpy ride as concerns about a new strain of coronavirus overshadowed news of a second bill for a pandemic relief package agreed in Washington late on Sunday.
The market ended in mixed lows, with the Dow closing 0.1%, or 37 points, while the broader S&P 500 index closed down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index down 0.1%.
Monday’s session was turbulent, as the 3 indices began the trading day with a sharp decline before retreating from their worst losses. The Dow turned slightly positive in the afternoon.
The market will witness a short week, as trading will end on Thursday at 1 pm ET to start the Christmas holidays. Edward Moya, chief analyst at Wanda, said that trading volumes decreased with the approaching holiday, which means that market movements tend to go overboard, making Monday’s sell-off look worse than it actually is.
But despite this, there are reasons for investor concerns, as dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas announced a travel ban to the United Kingdom, as a new type of Coronavirus was announced. The new strain is believed to be more contagious, which could deal a blow to the fragile economic recovery after the spring closures around the world.
Oil prices also fell, with US futures down nearly 3% to $ 47.74 a barrel in the late afternoon.
