Wall Street slides over virus surge, Georgia elections

Sliding from all-time peaks are Wall Street shares after the first trading day of the year showed an ebbing risk appetite amidst resurging coronavirus infections and upcoming Georgia elections.

After posting a record high earlier in the session together with the S&P 500, the Dow was also dragged down by more than 4% in Boeing Co’s shares after Bernstein cut its rating to underperform.

The three main indexes all fell to a two-week low, with record highs in the Dow and S&P 500 continuing a 2020 rally driven by inoculation progress and monetary stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 382.59 points, or 1.25%, to 30,223.89, the S&P 500 fell 55.42 points, or 1.48%, to 3,700.65 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 189.84 points, or 1.47%, to 12,698.45.

The Dow and the S&P 500 recorded their biggest daily percentage falls since late October, while the Nasdaq sustained its biggest fall since Dec. 9.