Wall St ends lower on fears of slowing economy

Wall Street’s major indexes fell sharply on Wednesday after data showing a cooling system of U.S. business activity along with the stalemate in Congress over more fiscal stimulus increased concerns about the economy while the coronavirus pandemic remains untouched. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped more than 2 percent, and all 11 of the major S&P sectors closed reduced. Energy – currently the worst-performing sector this season – headed the rout in its largest single-day decrease since July 9. [O/R] Hopes of a strong recovery and historic stimulation fueled the U.S. stock rally following the coronavirus-driven crash in March. But doubts over the following aid bill along with a sell-off in heavyweight technology-related stocks have weighed on sentiment as the market peaked on Sept. 2. Wednesday’s dip came to the day that U.S. shares March 23 tumbled to their lowest point through the pandemic-induced selloff. The economy is now leveling off at approximately 80 percent of activity before the pandemic and will not return to normal until a vaccine is in place, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of personal wealth at Glenmede at Philadelphia. “We’re at that phase where it’s harder to get that next bit of the recovery, that next bit of the reopening in place,” Pride said. “We’re still doing it, but the progress is way slower than it was in the first three months of the reopening.” Investors are trying to comprehend where to spend with mega-cap technology stocks trading well over their long-term fair value, but also the deep-value stocks represent expanding businesses, such as electricity and brick-and-mortar banks, he explained. “We’re spending more of our time in that sweet spot in the middle to get away from the extremes of growth,” Pride said. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the central bank was not likely any”major” changes to the Main Street Lending Program, although saying that both the Fed and Congress need to”stay with it” in working to strengthen the economic recovery. [nW1N2FN01K]”The longer we go without more stimulus, the harder it will be to sustain the gains in the economy,” explained Willie Delwiche, investment strategist in Baird at Milwaukee. Data from IHS Markit showed profits at factories were offset by a slowdown in the wider services sector in September, suggesting that a loss of momentum in the economy at a time when issues are rising about a potential spike in COVID-19 cases going to the colder months. The U.S. Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal, which would need congressional approval, that seeks to reform a legal resistance for internet businesses and follows through President Donald Trump’s bid from earlier this season to crack down on tech giants. Wall Street favorites such as Apple Inc, Google-parent Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc, which have borne the brunt of the past losses, again declined at a rate exceeding losses of the benchmark S&P 500. A decrease in Facebook Inc arrived below the S&P drop. The S&P 500 skidded to lows last seen in late July and is down 9.6percent from the record high hit three months ago. That puts it less than half a percentage point from penetrating corrective territory, as the Nasdaq did a week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 525.05 points, or 1.92 percent, to 26,763.13. The S&P 500 dropped 78.65 points, approximately 2.37 percent, to 3,236.92, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 330.65 points, approximately 3.02 percent, to 10,632.99. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.04 billion shares, up from 8.68 billion shares on Tuesday. Tesla Inc, another recent Wall Street darling, tumbled 10.3percent following Chief Executive Elon Musk failed to impress with his promise to reduce electrical car prices at the provider’s much-awaited”Battery Day” event on Tuesday. Nike Inc jumped 8.8percent to a record after it reported that quarterly digital earnings, especially in North America, helped offset a drop in sales at traditional brick-and-mortar shops. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones around the NYSE by a 7.80-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 5.95-to-1 ratio favorite decliners. The S&P 500 posted three fresh 52-week highs plus one new reduced; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 brand fresh highs along with 89 new lows.

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