US stocks drop from record highs amid spiking virus cases
- US stocks traded mostly lower on Monday, retreating from record highs set last week amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and a new round of lockdowns.
- Millions of California residents were placed under new restrictions over the weekend, and bars, hair salons, and restaurants were ordered to close or cut back on operations.
- New daily virus cases reported in the US have hovered at about 200,000 this month.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks traded mostly lower on Monday and retreated from record highs set last week as a surge in COVID-19 cases led to new lockdown orders in California.
With about 200,000 new cases reported each day in the country this month and with record numbers of cases reported in California, the state implemented new restrictions and stay-at-home orders affecting millions of residents over the weekend.
Bars, hair salons, and restaurants were ordered to close or curtail operations, and stores were ordered to reduce their capacity to 20%.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Monday:
- S&P 500: 3,691.96, down 0.2%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 30,069.79, down 0.5% (148 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 12,519.95, up 0.5%
Despite broad market losses, a rally in tech shares sent the Nasdaq to an intraday record.
The surge in COVID-19 cases hasn't reduced investors' appetite for high-profile initial public offerings like Airbnb and DoorDash. Airbnb is expected to raise its valuation to $42 billion in its December debut. Meanwhile, not all investors are behind DoorDash, with one analyst calling it the "most ridiculous IPO of 2020."
Kodak surged as much as 98% after a federal watchdog said it found no problems with a $765 million government loan awarded to the company earlier this year.
Virgin Galactic rallied as much as 14% as its imminent space flight test launch is just around the corner.
Palantir surged 17% at intraday highs after it was awarded a three-year contract with the FDA worth $44 million, according to a Bloomberg report.
Oil prices edged lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 2%, to $45.36 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 1.7%, to $48.40 per barrel, at intraday lows.
Gold gained as much as 1.6%, to $1,868.60 per ounce.