Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The United States (US) stock exchange opened to crash into the red zone on trading Thursday (11/19/2020), following poor unemployment data amid the increase in Covid-19 cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 99.5 points (-0.3%) at 08:30 local time (21:30 WIB) and 25 minutes later thinned to 9.8 points (-0.03%) to 29,428.63 while the S&P 500 index dropped 1.5 points (-0.04%) to 3,566.32. However, the Nasdaq rose 25.5 points (+ 0.22%) to 11,827.12 after being opened in red.
The utility and financial sector stock indexes were the worst performers, falling by 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
If it continues until the close, this correction will extend Wall Street’s journey on the red lane after the Dow Jones index fell 345 points, or -1.2%, at the close yesterday. The S&P 500 index dropped 1.2%, while the Nasdaq plunged 0.8%.
Pfizer’s positive news seemed meaningless. Previously, the US pharmaceutical company announced that the final analysis showed that the vaccine has an effectiveness rate of 95% and the company plans to apply for a distribution license in the next few days.
Research reports from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford today also show that their corona vaccine is still safe and triggers antibodies in the adult body. However, the study was published in the journal The Lancet failed to boost market sentiment.
The CNBC Analysis report said that the US recorded a daily average of new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday again setting a new record high of 161,165, or a 26% jump in a week.
“The bad news for Covid is related to the increase in regional quarantine [terutama di New York dan Los Angeles] starting to shut down the optimism of vaccines, and that’s weighing on stocks, “said Tom Essaye, founder of The Seven Report, as quoted CNBC International.
Currently, he continued, there is a risk of the biggest economic restriction since the summer, which will put pressure on the economy and performance of listed companies. As many as 11.5 million US citizens have tested positive, prompting policies to tighten economic and social activities in several regions.
On Wednesday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the closure of public schools to be replaced by home-learning in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus ahead of winter. This policy will be followed by other state governments.
Bad sentiment also came from the US Department of Labor which reported that there were 742,000 US citizens who filed claims for unemployment benefits in the last week, or worse than the consensus of analysts in a Dow Jones poll predicting the figure of 710,000.
CNBC INDONESIA RESEARCH TEAM
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