Stock market sees biggest drop since March

U.S. stocks took a hard hit on Thursday as all three indexes recorded low performances not seen since March 2020. With growing concern over new COVID-19 spikes, investors have been quick to exit over fear of another surge.

The Dow fell 6.9% lower, according to an article by CNN Business, recording a drop of more than 1,800 points and closing out at 1,862. The drop causes the index to fall back below 26,000 point for the first time since the start of the month.

The S&P 500 fell 5.9%, closing at its lowest total points since late May. Only one S&P stock, Kroger, closed in positive territory, according to CNN Business. NASDAQ closed 5.3% lower.

Increasing concern over COVID-19 sent major averages lower and stocks most exposed to the economy’s reopening, such as retailers and cruise line operators, dragged markets lower, according to an article by CNBC. On Thursday declining stocks outpaced advancing stocks 2,928 to 95 or almost 31 to 1 on the NYSE, according to the same article.

Although many investors anticipated a quick recovery for the U.S. economy, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. appears to have caused a big retraction on Wall Street.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. economy would not be shut down again despite the rising case count, according to CNN Business. “We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage, and not just economic damage, but there are other areas,” he said during an interview with CNBC.