Investing.com – Stocks on Wall Street ended lower on Friday, as investors weighed the worrying increase of new COVID-19 cases against apparent progress on vaccines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 219 points, or 0.8%, to close the day at 29,263. The S&P 500 shed 0.7% to settle at 3,557, while the Nasdaq Composite ended the session down 0.4% at 11,854.
For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 lost 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, to post their first weekly decline in three weeks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq however managed to score a gain of 0.2% over that time frame.
Coronavirus cases are soaring across the U.S., leading a handful of states and cities to reimpose social distancing restrictions to try to slow the rapid spread of the disease ahead of the winter season.
Public health professionals are also urging people to give up on holiday gatherings, with the Thanksgiving holiday just a few days away.
The biggest question in the market right now is whether the negative headlines of soaring virus cases and renewed lockdowns will be enough to derail the positive developments seen on the vaccine front.
Good news about potential vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) had helped push the Dow and S&P 500 to a record high earlier in the week.
Source: Economy - investing.com
