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u.s. news Diasabra 31 OctOber 2020

Stocks slump again as Wall Street’s miserable week continues

(AP) - Stocks are falling
again Friday as Wall Street
closes out a punishing
week and its first back-to-
back monthly loss since
worries about the pan-
demic were peaking in
March.

The S&P 500 was 1.6% lower
in afternoon trading and on
pace for a 6.1% loss for the
week, which would be its
worst since March. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average was
down 327 points, or 1.2%, at
26,330, as of 2:22 p.m. East-
ern time, after earlier being
down 502 points. The Nas-
daq composite was down
2.7%.

Worries about whether ex-
pectations built too high for
some of the stock market’s
biggest stars helped drive
the losses. They piled on
top of fears that built earlier
this week about coming eco-
nomic damage due to surging
coronavirus counts around
the world, Washington’s in-
ability to provide more sup-
port for the economy and
uncertainty surrounding the
upcoming presidential elec-
tion.
pecting, just like the other ket value having reported,
“Today, you have investors stock in the Big Five did ear- 84% of companies have beat Georgia governor
who are taking profits in lier this week. But also like expectations, according to
the tech stocks that they ex- Microsoft, most nevertheless Credit Suisse. quarantining; exposed to
pected to do well in the third fell as investors found rea- Analysts say that's an indica-
quarter,” said Sam Stovall, sons for concern within their tion that expectations may
chief investment strategist at reports. have built too high through infected person
CFRA. “And now the focus the market's big rally and that
once again is on Covid-19, Apple dropped 6% after in- investors' attention may sim-
and investors are just selling vestors focused on weaker ply be elsewhere given all the
ahead of a weekend.” revenue than expected for its uncertainties sweeping the
iPhones and sales in China. market.
Much of the market's focus Amazon fell 5.5%, and Face- Much of the market’s focus
Friday was on Apple, Ama- book lost 6.7%. has been on what’s to come
zon, Facebook and Google’s for the economy when coro-
parent company. They are Twitter, another high-profile navirus counts are rising at
four of the five biggest tech stock, slumped 20.6% troubling rates across Europe
stocks in the S&P 500 by for the largest loss by far and the United States.
market value, which gives among stocks in the S&P 500.
their movements outsized It also reported better-than- Several European govern-
sway on the index, and they expected earnings for the lat- ments have already brought
were principal forces behind est quarter. Investors focused back restrictions on busi-
Wall Street’s huge rally since instead on its growth in daily nesses to slow the spread of
March. users, which fell short of ana- the virus. Even if the strictest
lysts’ expectations. lockdowns don’t return in
All four reported profit for Google’s parent company, the United States, the worry
the summer that was even Alphabet, was an outlier and is the pandemic's rising death (AP) — Republican who received a positive test
better than analysts were ex- rose 4.4% after reporting toll will drive customers away Georgia Gov. Brian result for COVID-19.”
growth in digital ad spend- from businesses by itself and Kemp and his wife have Hall said both have re-
ing. undercut profits. gone into quarantine ceived a coronavirus test,
after being exposed to though he did not say if
A similar trend has been oc- “Because of the spike in Co- someone who tested they’d received the results
curring across the market: vid-19 overseas, with Ger- positive for COVID-19, yet.
Stocks are not getting the many and France in lock- his spokesman an- Georgia has had more than
bounce they usually do after down mode once again, the nounced Friday. 350,000 confirmed cases
reporting results that beat implication is that we could of the virus. More than
analysts' expectations. And be heading into a double-dip The spokesman, Cody 7,900 people in the state
they’ve been giving investors recession in Europe, and that Hall, said in a statement have died after contracting
plenty of opportunities to do would have negative future that Kemp and first lady the virus, according to data
so: With nearly three quar- implications for our eco- Marty Kemp “were recent- from the state Department
ters of the S&P 500 by mar- nomic growth.” Stovall said. ly exposed to an individual of Public Health.