With concerns over potential pandemic shutdowns now overshadowing the promising news surrounding COVID-19 vaccine developments, U.S. stocks have experienced significant losses after a late-session sell-off on Wednesday.
Throughout Wednesday’s trading, all three major U.S. stock indexes fluctuated widely. Inverness Counsel chief investment strategist Tim Ghriskey explained that the reason for this instability is because portfolio managers are struggling to determine which time period to focus on when making forecasts.
There’s a constant struggle between concentrating on the months during which lockdowns will occur and the long-term projections for when a vaccine will be distributed and the threat of the virus extinguished.
Over the course of Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 344.93 points, or 1.16%, while Nasdaq Composite declined by 97.74 points, namely 0.82%. The S&P 500 experienced a 1.16% decline of 41.74 points.
Despite the bleak recent news, the S&P 500 recorded 30 new 52-week highs and no new lows. On the other side of the coin, The Nasdaq Composite posted 142 new highs and only 9 new lows.
