A late-afternoon slide on Wall Street dragged stocks broadly lower Wednesday, wiping out early gains and adding to losses from a day earlier as investors worry about the economic fallout from surging coronavirus cases in the U.S.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2%. It had been up 0.3% in the early going after Pfizer and BioNTech reported updated data suggesting their potential COVID-19 vaccine may be 95% effective. The companies said they plan to ask U.S. regulators within days to allow emergency use of the vaccine.
The news, which followed encouraging data on Monday about a vaccine being developed by Moderna, initially gave investors cause for optimism that the virus-ravaged economy could begin to heal next year. But such optimism is being tempered by a spike in coronavirus cases and worries that it will lead to widespread restrictions on businesses once more.
