By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – A wave of late selling hit stocks Tuesday as the energy-infused rally ran out of steam. Oil prices fell sharply as fears about a glut in crude supply continue to mount.
The Dow fell 0.12%, or 26 points, but had been up about 937 points at the highs of the day. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% and the Nasdaq Composite ended 0.33% lower.
Energy stocks, which had led the early-day really, came under pressure as oil prices dropped 9% amid rising worries a coordinated production cut from global oil producers will do little to stop an expected glut in supply.
Some on Wall Street ahve estimated the coronavirus pandemic has cut demand by as many as 20 million barrels per day.
Gains in the market were also stifled by a 4.8% decline in Boeing (NYSE:BA) amid reports that regulators have delayed the 737 Max test flight until May.
The 737 Max has been grounded since March last year following two fatal crashes.
The wild ride on Wall Street comes as many weigh signs that measures, including social distancing, in hot spots like New York and New Jersey are helping to curb the outbreak against fears that other states could see a wave of infections.
Underscoring a fall in the rate of hospitalizations, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state was still indicating that the spread of the virus was plateauing, even as the state reported its biggest increase in deaths of 731 overnight.
Cuomo said, however, that death was a lagging indicator in the fight against the virus. He also pointed to a significant drop in patients admitted to intensive care units.
Infection in the U.S. increased 24,470 to 391,474 since Monday, with as many as 12,500 deaths recorded.
Sentiment on Wall Street was supported earlier by hopes Congress is readying another large stimulus package to curb the economic fallout from Covid-19 crisis.
Financials, mostly banks, ended the day higher, underpinned by a jump in Treasury yields.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) closed about 2% higher, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) gained 5% and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) rose 4%.