NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average started the week with a sharp decline, falling as much as 800 points, or 2.3%, in early trading Monday as investors worried about the state of the post-pandemic economic recovery.
All major U.S. indexes extended their losses after opening lower, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.8% while the Nasdaq was down 1.5%.
The broad sell-off hit Apple and other big tech names as well as banks and leisure-related stocks.
A U.S. stock market rally into mid-July is being tested by a resurgence in coronavirus infections this month, driven by the delta variant of the virus.
On Sunday, Los Angeles County reinstated its mask wearing rule for indoor public spaces, in one of the first major signs of backsliding into the restrictions seen during the height of the U.S. coronavirus crisis last year.
Risk-averse investors have piled into bonds, sending the yield on U.S. 10-year debt to a roughly five-month low.