Dow tumbles 700 points as investors mull spiking virus cases

• US stocks fell on Friday as spiking coronavirus cases threaten to slow economic reopenings.
• Bank stocks slumped after the Federal Reserve said on Thursday that it would limit stock buybacks and cap dividends.
• The Commerce Department said on Friday that US consumer spending jumped by a record amount in May even as personal incomes fell.
• Read more on Business Insider.

US stocks fell on Friday as investors continued to watch spiking coronavirus cases threaten economic-reopening efforts nationwide.

Bank stocks led losses after the Federal Reserve on Thursday said it would limit stock buybacks and cap dividends. The central bank said the decision was part of an effort to boost the capital of big banks to guard against further shocks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's where US indexes stood at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday:

• S&P 500: 3,017.84, down 2.15%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 25,067.12, down 2.69% (690 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 9,804.02, down 2.12%

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Investors have been closely watching as surges in new coronavirus cases throw off some states' reopening progress — on Thursday, Texas and Florida paused their reopening plans.

Still, markets have largely shrugged off the climbing cases as some data shows positive signals. US consumer spending jumped by a record 8.2% in May, while personal income declined, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Shares of Gap rallied more than 30% on Friday following an announcement that the company had reached a deal with Kanye West to create a line of Yeezy apparel.

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In an online conference on Friday, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, said that while the worst of the coronavirus crisis might be over, the recovery would be "sequential and restrained" and could be transformational for some industries.

Oil prices slid. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 2.4%, to $37.79 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 1.9%, to $40.73 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Volumes may be higher than usual later on Friday as the Russell indexes undergo their annual rebalancing.

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