Stocks Tumble As Coronavirus Cases Spike Again In U.S. And Europe

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United Airlines employees work at ticket counters at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Oct. 14. United and other airline stocks have been hard-hit by the pandemic economic slowdown.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

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Nam Y. Huh/AP

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«There continue to be wide swaths of the U.S. economy which simply cannot get back to normal in a worsening pandemic, including travel, leisure, entertainment, restaurants and bricks-and-mortar retailing, says David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

But declines took place across the board. Energy companies, which see their profits fall when the economy slows, were down.

Meanwhile, the odds that Congress and the White House can agree on another stimulus bill are fading.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke several times about a bill last week, White House officials say significant differences remain between the two sides.

«The failure of Congress and the administration to agree on a further stimulus package before the election will likely result in more small-business closures and state and local layoffs in the fourth quarter, along with some slowing in consumer spending on the basics, Kelly says.