US Markets Slip On New Virus Figures

The S&P 500 and the Dow reversed earlier gains to snap a three-day winning streak. Tech shares led the Nasdaq to a modest gain.

Worries over a resurgence in the pandemic's spread persisted, as new coronavirus cases hit a record in Oklahoma just days before US President Donald Trump's expected campaign rally in Tulsa.

The numbers of new cases are rising sharply in about six US states, according to a Reuters analysis, and authorities in Beijing have ramped up mobility restrictions in their efforts to contain a new Covid-19 outbreak.

"There are periodic points of news flow where the positive news will carry the market and negative news will pressure the market," said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta. "It's a return of health concerns versus economic optimism."

"There's a tug of war with headlines," Sroka added.

Indeed, the indexes were up earlier in the session on news than an inexpensive, common steroid called dexamethasone can help save critically ill Covid-19 patients, according to a clinical trial in Britain, a development that prompted the World Health Organisation to update its treatment guidelines.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell wrapped up two days of congressional testimony, during which he pledged the central bank will use its "full range of tools" to help that recovery along. But Powell added, "It would be a concern if Congress were to pull back on the support that it's providing, too quickly."

On the economic front, while housing starts increased at a slower-than-expected pace in May, building permits saw a more robust rebound and applications for loans to purchase homes surged last week to a near 12-year high last week, according to separate reports from the US Commerce Department and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.65 percent, to 26,120, the S&P 500 lost 0.36 per cent, to 3,113 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.15 percent, to 9,911. (Reuters)