Stocks fell on Monday, the first trading day of 2021, following a wild but highly profitable year for investors.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 559.66 points, or 1.8%, to reach noon at 30,046.82.
The S&P 500 faded 62.31 points, or 1.7%, to 3,693.76.
The NASDAQ swooned 186.65 points, or 1.5%, to 12,701.63.
Boeing and Coca-Cola were the worst-performing Dow components, falling 3.9% and 4.2%, respectively. Real estate fell 2.2% to lead the S&P 500 lower.
Monday's decline came as traders fretted over the growing number of coronavirus cases around the world.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed more than 20 million COVID-19 infections have been confirmed in the U.S. Several cases of a new coronavirus strain have also been confirmed across the country. Globally, more than 85 million cases have been confirmed. In the U.K., the BBC reported the country would impose Tier 4 restrictions across the country.
The 30-stock Dow ended last year with an advance of 7.3%, and the S&P 500 rose 16.3% in that time. At one point in 2020, the two market benchmarks were down more than 30% as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the global economy.
The real standout of 2020 was the NASDAQ, which surged 43.6% for its biggest one-year gain since 2009. The NASDAQ's outperformance came as investors and traders flocked into tech stocks in the throes of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Unprecedented fiscal and monetary support for the economy — coupled with the development and rollout of multiple COVID-19 vaccines — helped the market recover from its massive drop to trade back at all-time highs.
The U.S. rollout of multiple COVID-19 vaccines has recently been slowed down due to supply constraints.
The head of Operation Warp Speed said on Sunday that the U.S. could ramp up its vaccine rollout by giving a group of Americans half doses of the drug developed by Moderna.
Moderna shares added 5.3%.
Tesla shares gained 4.8% on Monday, hitting an all-time high, after the electric carmaker said Saturday that it delivered 180,570 electric vehicles last quarter, beating expectations.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to back to Thursday's 0.92%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.07 to $47.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices screamed higher $50.00 to $1,945.10 U.S. an ounce.