Market Snapshot: Dow futures point to 2nd day of losses as COVID hospitalizations rise, fiscal package in doubt

S&P 500 index futures ESZ20, -0.20% ES00, -0.20% were down 15.55 points, or 0.4%, at 3,675.25.

Nasdaq-100 futures NQZ20, -0.34% NQ00, -0.34% were off 36.75 points, or 0.3%, at 12,559.25.

On Monday, the Nasdaq ended at a record but the broader market finished lower:

• The Dow DJIA, -0.09% fell 148.47 points, or 0.5%, to end at 30,069.79
• The S&P 500 SPX, -0.22% shed 7.16 points, or 0.2%, finishing at 3,691.96
• The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.30% rose 55.71 points, or 0.5%, to a new closing record of 12,519.95.

What’s driving the market?

U.S. equities were likely to head south, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delaying progress on another financial aid package over the issue of legal liability for businesses for customers, staff or suppliers who catch COVID-19.

A bipartisan group, led by Sen Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is completing the language on a $908 billion package on Tuesday, even as McConnell continued to advocate for his own, slimmed down proposal, Politico reported.

Meanwhile, U.S. hospitalizations due to coronavirus hit a record on Monday, though the U.K. began its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, with 90-year-old Maggie Keenan the first person to receive the inoculation in the country.

The U.K’s vaccine rollout comes as the global tally for confirmed cases of coronavirus rose above 67.6 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose above 1.5 million. The U.S. has the highest case tally in the world at 14.9 million and the highest death toll at 283,746, or more than a fifth of the global total.

U.S. analysts were predicting a choppy session for stock prices Tuesday with daily new COVID cases rising further and a lack of clarity on fiscal relief measures by Congress.

“In summary, we see a mixed market session as stimulus and COVID-19 19 worries keep investors on the sidelines,” wrote Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in a Tuesday note.

Brexit is also on investors’ radars, as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to travel to Brussels this week for a make-or-break meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the remaining differences in talks to avoid a no-deal exit from the European Union, an event that could potentially roil markets anew.

In fact, market participants are looking ahead to a series of key events later in the week, including Thursday’s meeting of the European Central Bank, the start of the EU summit, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s review of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

In economic data, third quarter productivity was revised to show a 4.6% rise versus a previous 4.9% estimate.

Which stocks were in focus?

• Shares of Tesla Inc. TSLA, -1.50% dropped premarket Tuesday after the electric vehicle market leader filed for the sale of up to $5 billion worth of stock.
• Shares of U.S. Steel X, +7.85% were in focus after it said it planned to acquire the remaining stake in Big River Steel for about $774 million from cash on hand.

What are other markets doing?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.906% fell 0.9 basis point to 0.916%. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.
• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, rose 0.1%.
• The pan-European Stoxx 600 Europe index SXXP, -0.20% fell 0.3%, while London’s FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.24% declined 0.5%.
• Oil futures were under pressure, with the U.S. benchmark CL.1, -0.15% down 0.u% near $45.43 a barrel. Gold futures were higher, with the February contract GCG21, +0.69% 0.3% higher at $1,872 an ounce on Comex.