Wall Street was on a wild ride Monday, with the Dow swinging wildly between highs and lows.
Stocks had opened moderately higher on hopes that a stimulus deal might still get done ahead of the election, as well as buoyant economic news out of China. But it wasn’t meant to last.
All three major indexes finished sharply in the red.
The Dow closed down 1.4%, or 411 points, having swung more than 570 points between its high and low points. The S&P 500 closed 1.6% lower.
The Nasdaq Composite ended 1.7% lower, its fifth straight down day.
“US stocks declined after another futile attempt at getting a stimulus deal before the election failed and as COVID-19 concerns grow as several states with large populations are seeing rising positivity rates,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note.
Over the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said if a new stimulus deal should pass before the election, it would have to be agreed on by Tuesday at the latest, putting a 48-hour deadline on negotiations that have been going on for months.
Initially, the market seemed to think this Hail Mary would work out, but as of Monday afternoon, things looked different. Pelosi said in a call with her caucus that differences between the White House and House Democrats remain.
On top of all that, it’s not just any Monday in October. It’s the 33rd anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, when the Dow and the S&P fell more than 20% in just one day.
