- Concerns about COVID-19 infection rates appear to have come back to the fore for markets as average daily cases hit a record high in the U.S., just days away from the presidential election.
- Wall Street sold off on Monday, led by a decline in energy, industrial stocks and other cyclicals, prompting the Dow to slide 650 points to record its worst week since September.
- Echoing the weakness, U.S. stock index futures hugged the flatline in the overnight session, compounded with little hope of a stimulus package from Washington.
- "To me, this is Phase 2 of the pandemic," said Frank Rybinski, chief macro strategist at Aegon Asset Management. "Until we get some eradication of the virus, it's going to be like a gray cloud."
- Meanwhile, more than one-third of the S&P 500 index components, or 186 companies, are set to report Q3 results this week, including some of the top names in the index.
- Today's lineup includes manufacturing behemoths 3M and Caterpillar, healthcare giants Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Merck, as well as tech titans Microsoft and AMD after the bell.
- Sideshow? While net earnings are surprising to the upside, with the exception of a few misses, the market seems laser-focused on the election, COVID-19 and any news related to stimulus talks.