Stocks, REITs Dive On "Second Wave" Fears
- U.S. equity markets finished sharply lower on Thursday, retreating following a furious "reopening rally" as investors expressed concern about a potential "second wave" of the pandemic sparked by recent protests.
- Outside of several isolated hotspots, evidence is scant regarding the dreaded "second wave" as daily new cases and deaths in the U.S. reached the lowest levels since March this week.
- Falling for the third straight day, the S&P 500 plunged by 5.9% today while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 1861 point, the fourth largest single-day point decline.
- Now off by more than 8% this week, the broad-based Equity REIT ETFs declined by 6.5% today with all 18 property sectors in negative territory while the Mortgage REIT ETF dipped another 7.5% today.
- Today's declines come after somewhat disappointing employment data this morning following far-stronger-than-expected jobs numbers last week from the BLS and ADP.
