Stocks fell lower for the first trading session of 2021 on Monday after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones reached record intraday higher as market sentiment became uneasy ahead of the Georgia Senate runoff election and concerning coronavirus pandemic trends following the holiday season.

The election taking place in Georgia on Tuesday will determine which political party controls the Senate, thus setting the balance of power in Congress as the Trump administration transitions to the Biden administration on Jan. 20.

However, market participants are heading into the new year with more optimistic outlooks as coronavirus vaccines are beginning to roll out and more economic stimulus aid was passed on Congress. Still, that optimism is threatened by growing lockdown concerns as the world begins to fight two new variants of the COVID virus that were first discovered in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Global and domestic economic recovery remains closely tied to the severity and duration of the pandemic.

Here's how the market settled to open the week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -1.48% or -55.42 points to 3,700.65

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -1.25% or -382.59 points to 30,223.89

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -1.47% or -189.83 points to 12,698.45

For Stocks, Tesla (TSLA  ) shares jumped to a fresh all-time high after the electric carmaker revealed that it had delivered a record number of vehicles during the fourth quarter. Moderna (MRNA  ) shares rose after the biotech updated that its new base line global production estimate for its coronavirus vaccine is now at 600 million doses for 2021, up from 500 million previously forecasted. The company stated that it is continuing to invest and add to its workforce to deliver up to 1 billion doses this year. China Telecom (CHA  ) and China Mobile (CHL  ) both fell on Monday after the New York Stock Exchange announced that the two telecom giants will be delisted from the stock exchange to comply with an earlier executive order signed by President Donald Trump which barrs Americans from investing in companies allegedly connected to the Chinese military.

For Sector Performance, most sectors on the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, with Energy (XLE  ) being the only sector to close slightly positive. While most industries fell over 1%, deeper losses where seen by Communication Services (XLC  ), Information Technology (XLK  ), Industrials (XLI  ), Utilities (XLU  ) and Real Estate (XLRE  ).

For Commodities and Currencies, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) slightly recovered from its more than two year lows on Monday, but still remained pressured following the passage of additional coronavirus stimulus measures. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against other global currencies, was last up 0.159% after touching a low of 89.415. Bitcoin fell from its weekend high of $34,800 on Monday, slipping as low as $27,734 as the cryptocurrency experienced new year volatility. The digital coin was last down about 5% at $31,411.95. Gold (GLD  ) prices rose over 2% on Monday as the dollar remained pressured and investors sought security in the "safe haven" bullion amid election uncertainty for the upcoming Georgia runoffs. Spot gold increased 2.4% to $1,943.13 per ounce, while gold futures settled 2.7% higher at $1,946.60. Crude oil futures ended lower on a volatile Monday as pandemic and election concerns gripped the market. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) declined 1% to $51.30 per barrel, while domestic benchmark West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) settled 1.85% lower at $47.62 each.

For Tuesday, market participants will continue to react to fresh coronavirus headlines, especially as more countries head into lockdown to help curb the spread of the two new variant strains from the United Kingdom and South Africa.