NEW YORK —The Dow Jones Industrial Average started the week with a sharp decline, extending its losses to more than 900 points, or 2.7%, Monday as investors worried about the state of the post-pandemic economic recovery.
All major U.S. indexes sunk deeper after opening declines, with the S&P 500 down 2% in afternoon trading while the Nasdaq was down 1.3%.
The broad sell-off hit Apple and other big tech names as well as banks and leisure-related stocks. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines were both down more than 4%, while cruise operator Carnival was lower by more than 5%.
A U.S. stock market rally into mid-July is being tested by a resurgence in coronavirus infections this month, driven by the delta variant of the virus.
Investors have been confronted with signs of a return of restrictions on travel and other activities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday raised its travel alert for the U.K. to very high, telling Americans to avoid visits there.
On Sunday, Los Angeles County reinstated its mask-wearing rule for indoor public spaces.
“For most people who get this delta variant, it’s going to be the most serious virus that they get in their lifetime in terms of the risk of putting them in the hospital,” former U.S. Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb said told NBC’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Risk-averse investors piled into bonds Monday, sending the yield on U.S. 10-year debt to a roughly five-month low.
U.S. stocks’ decline followed sell-offs in Asian and European markets, with the Nikkei Stock Average ending Monday down 1.25%.
The FTSE 100 fell 2.3%, while the DAX dropped 2.6%.
