Wall Street staged a major sell-off on Monday as investor outlook weakened towards the end of September ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that starts on Tuesday and as COVID concerns begin to increase again as colder weather approaches.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed over 600 points throughout the session, while the S&P 500 posted its worst daily performance since May, with the broad sell-off pulling each of the 11 sectors of the benchmark into the red. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also dropped over 2%.
Here's how the market settled on Monday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
U.S. to ease travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign travellers:
The White House announced Monday that the United States will ease travel restrictions for international visitors who are vaccinated against COVID in November.
White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said foreign travelers flying into the U.S. will need to provide proof of vaccine before boarding the plane, as well as proof of a negative COVID test taken within three days of their flight. Additionally, unvaccinated American citizens will also be required to show proof of negative COVID test within a day before their departure as well as their return to the U.S.
"In the coming weeks, [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] will be issuing a contact tracing order requiring airlines to collect current information for each U.S.-bound traveler, including their phone number and email address," Zients said during a press briefing.
Homebuilder confidence rose in September:
Single-family homebuilders in the United States regained confidence in September after three months of decline, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index monthly reading published Monday.
The month's index reading rose one point to 76, with readings above 50 indicating more builders view conditions to be favorable rather than poor.
"While building material challenges persist, the rate of cost growth has eased for some products, but the job openings rate in construction is trending higher," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz in a press release.
Here's how benchmarks started trading soon after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: -1.65% or -73.27 points to 4,359.72
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.57% or -544.64 points to 34,040.24
Nasdaq Composite Index: -1.96% or -295.51 points to 14,748.46
