S&P500 closes lower as investors eye new coronavirus cases

On Wednesday, S&P 500 closed lower due to the news about increasing coronavirus data and the prospect of a new round of economic lockdowns. Investors were divided on whether to take heart from signs of an economic recovery or fear the impact of the rising coronavirus outbreak.

The S&P 500 and the Dow reversed earlier gains to snap three sessions of back-to-back gains. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at 0.4% while the tech shares of Nasdaq Composite closed just 0.2% higher.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed at 0.2% higher and the benchmark Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.7%.

“There are periodic points of news flow where the positive news will carry the market and negative news will pressure the market. It’s a return of health concerns versus economic optimism,” NovaPoint Atlanta’s Chief investment Officer Joseph Sroka said in an interview.

“There’s a tug of war with headlines,” he added.