Stocks were down again Friday, capping off the worst week the market has seen since March.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, closing a week that saw the index lose 5.6% total, per CNBC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down even more at 6.5%, marking the worst one-week dip either indicator has had in 7 months, CNBC reports. (RELATED: Several Major Business Groups Urge Patience In Election That May Take ‘Days Or Even Weeks’ To Decide)
The March drop was largely driven by COVID-19 outbreaks and the ensuing concern that threatened to shut down the economy, and the same trends are reappearing now as major European countries begin reimplementing lockdowns due to the virus’ increasing spread. The United States is also seeing record numbers of new COVID-19 cases.
Sharp drops in Apple, Facebook and other big technology companies ended a miserable week on Wall Street on another sour note. Surging coronavirus cases, Washington’s failure to deliver needed aid and the uncertainty about the election sent markets lower. https://t.co/85Oagd3A9m
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 30, 2020
Struggles in Washington to reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill to help hurting workers and businesses are another red flag for investors. Traders had been expecting that Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill would find a compromise before Tuesday’s election but were left disappointed, CNBC reported. (RELATED: China Purchases Record Amount Of US Goods In September As Part Of New Trade Deal)
The timing of the market drop, just days before the 2020 election, is poor for President Trump, who has made a strong pre-pandemic economy a central selling point of his reelection efforts.
There was good economic news this week though, as third-quarter GDP growth reached a historic high.