- US stocks slumped Tuesday, with major indexes lower after the opening bell.
- Tuesday's session marks one year since US stocks hit their bottom as the COVID-19 crisis accelerated
- Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will make a joint appearance.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
US stocks fell Tuesday with risk appetite receding as investors turned their attention to the worsening COVID-19 conditions in Europe, which are raising concerns about global economic recovery from the pandemic.
All three major indexes sagged. Tech stocks showed some outperformance, aided in part by a pullback in borrowing costs as implied by the 10-year Treasury yield. That yield fell below 1.65% after hitting a 14-month high late last week.
Rising coronavirus cases have prompted Germany to enact lockdown measures over Easter as Europe's largest economy battles a resurgence of the virus. Meanwhile, France has broadened lockdowns in the country and Italy has issued new restrictions.
Here's where US indexes stood after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 3,937.31, down 0.08%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 32,690.24, down 0.13 % (40.96 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 13,374.87, down 0.13%
The dimmer COVID-19 picture from Europe comes one year after US stocks tumbled by more than 30% on fears that the pandemic would push the US and other economies into recession.
Investors will look for any comments about the coronavirus crisis and accompanying financial conditions from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as they make their first joint appearance Tuesday before the US's House Financial Services Committee.
AstraZeneca shares fell after US health officials raised questions about the drug maker's COVID-19 vaccine, saying the company may have used some outdated trial data in its update about the formula.
Meanwhile, Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital and investment firm First Trust Advisors have applied for regulatory approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Oil prices tumbled, with West Texas Intermediate crude down 4% to $59.09 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 4.1% to $61.94 per barrel.
Gold fell 0.3% to $1,732.30 per ounce as US treasury yields eased.
Bitcoin lost 3.5% to trade at $55,493.