At closing bell on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down some 509.72 points, a 1.84% drop, finishing at 27,147.70. The S&P 500, which follows the world’s top companies, fell by 38.41 points, a 1.16% drop to finish at 3,281.06. The Nasdaq Composite, which heavily tracks info tech companies, fell by some 14.48 points, a 0.13% drop to finish at 10,778.80.
The market decline is being largely driven by fears that a new social lockdown being considered in the United Kingdom could bring economic activity there to a screeching halt. Experts warned on Monday that unless the country’s course is altered, in a month’s time the UK could be recording 50,000 new COVID-19 cases per day.
Accordingly, it was travel companies like Carnival, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines that led the decline, losing 6.4%, 5.6%, and 8.7% of their stock value, respectively.
Meanwhile, continued debate over a new COVID-19 economic relief bill in Congress could be put on hold in the wake of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. US President Donald Trump said on Monday he intended to eschew Democrats’ calls to wait until after the November presidential election to nominate a replacement, and could pick a candidate for the nation’s top court as early as Saturday.
