Stocks were sharply lower from the outset of trading with very few signs of any inclination to buy the dip as new lockdown measures in Europe, and worries about the impending election in the U.S., kept investors on the sideline.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the advance indicators report revealed a September narrowing in the goods trade deficit to $79.4B.
In Europe, it was reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will impose the nation's toughest restrictions since a national lockdown in the spring. Bloomberg said a deal to impose a one-month partial shutdown was agreed upon after talks with leaders of the country's 16 states. Meanwhile, France will go back into a nationwide lockdown starting this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation, according to various media reports. Most schools are to remain open, unlike when France enforced an eight-week lockdown in the spring, Macron said, according to Reuters coverage of his address.
Data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 44.1M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 8.79M in the U.S., and 1.17M deaths due to the disease, including about 227,000 in the U.S.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Boeing (BA) slid 4.6% after the planemaker reported quarterly losses and said it expects to "continue lowering overall staffing levels."
Shares of General Electric (GE) rose 4.5% after reporting better than expected third quarter revenue and posting an adjusted profit when a loss was expected.
Despite earnings and revenue results that beat expectations last night, Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell almost 5%.
Similarly, UPS (UPS) topped consensus forecasts for its Q3 earnings and revenue but the shares declined 8.8%. The shipper declined to give revenue and EPS guidance "due to the uncertainty around the timing and pace of the economic recovery."
In M&A news, CNBC reported that private equity and strategic buyers are circling CoreLogic (CLGX), and the company subsequently confirmed that "it is engaging with third parties indicating preliminary interest based on public information in the potential acquisition of the company at a value at or above $80 per share." Truist analyst Andrew Jeffrey said he thinks CoStar Group (CSGP), which was mentioned by CNBC as a possible bidder, is best positioned to do a deal and he "would not be surprised" to see it pay as much as about $90 per share for CoreLogic.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that a U.S. appeals court has declined to reconsider an August ruling that dismissed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Qualcomm (QCOM).
Additionally, the CEOs of Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG), and Twitter (TWTR) were grilled during a Senate hearing today, as Senators on the Commerce Committee questioned the executives over their platforms' content moderation policies. Some Senators during the hearing demanded more transparency while others requested explanations on a few particular cases in which content was removed or labeled by platforms, according to CNN.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Community Health (CYH), which surged 29.6% after it reported upbeat Q3 results and announced that CEO Wayne T. Smith will transition from CEO to executive chairman. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were Tupperware (TUP) and First Solar (FSLR), which gained a respective 35% and 13.2% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Callaway Golf (ELY), which dropped 18.8% after entering into a definitive merger agreement with Topgolf. Also lower were Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF) and Denny's (DENN), which fell 16.6% and 15.7%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 943.24, or 3.43%, to 26,519.95, the Nasdaq lost 426.48, or 3.73%, to 11,004.87, and the S&P 500 declined 119.65, or 3.53%, to 3,271.03.
