Picture: MICHAEL NAGLE/BLOOMBERG
The Dow shed as much as 900 points and the CBOE Market Volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, shot up to its highest level in nearly two weeks.“It just kind of crowds out the agenda, the idea that we are going to get a fiscal stimulus package before the election,” said Ed Campbell, portfolio manager and MD at QMA in Newark, New Jersey.
Health-care providers came under pressure on uncertainty over the fate of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, with shares of Universal Health Services falling more than 11%. Another round of business restrictions will threaten a nascent recovery in the wider economy and add further pressure on equity markets, analysts said. The first round of lockdowns in March had led the S&P 500 to suffer its worst monthly decline since the global financial crisis.
The largest gainer among the Nasdaq 100 was Zoom Video Communications, which rose 6.2% on the prospect that fresh lockdowns would spur greater use of the product.