NEW YORK — Stocks are off to another slow start on Wall Street as traders keep a close eye on Washington, where discussions are still stuck on providing more relief for the economy, and on coronavirus counts, which continue to rise. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.2% in the early going Tuesday, pulling slightly futher below the record high it set on Friday. Energy and industrial companies managed small gains. Shop-from-home clothing seller Stitch Fix soared after reporting a surprise profit in its latest quarter. European markets were trading lower, Treasury yields held steady and crude oil prices were slightly lower.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and U.S. futures declined Tuesday as surging coronavirus infections in the United States and some other countries tempered investor optimism over development of possible vaccines.
Markets in London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong declined. Frankfurt and Paris were little changed.
Investor worries have risen as some U.S. states and European countries reimpose anti-virus curbs on travel and business, threatening to drag down shaky economic activity in what is expected to be a bleak winter.
“`Too much, too soon’ was arguably the memo sent to market bulls,” Mizuho Bank said in a report. The surge in new U.S. cases “begs the question of whether vaccine euphoria was getting ahead of outbreak realities.”
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London shed 0.3% to 6,535.45 while the DAX in Frankfurt was unchanged at 13,271.45. The CAC 40 in Paris shed less than 0.1% to 5,569.41.
On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
On Monday, the S&P lost 0.2% as health care, financial and energy stocks declined. The Dow slid 0.5% while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,410.18 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.3% to 26,467.08. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 0.8% to 26,304.56.
Shares in China’s biggest online health platform, JD Health, rose 56% in their trading debut in Hong Kong, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the fledgling industry as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
In Seoul, the Kospi tumbled 1.6% to 2,700.93 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced 0.2% to 6,687.70.
India’s Sensex opened up 0.5% at 45,646.51. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets gained.
The S&P 500 had one of its best months in decades in November and added more to it last week.
Traders also are watching to see whether U.S. political leaders can agree on a new aid plan for the struggling economy after supplemental unemployment benefits that supported consumer spending expired.
On Monday, the United States reported 175,663 new virus cases and 1,113 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 22 cents to $45.54 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 50 cents on Monday to $45.76. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 25 cents to $48.54 per barrel in London. It declined 46 cents the previous session to $48.79.
The dollar advanced to 104.07 yen from Monday’s 103.98 yen. The euro edged down to $1.2117 from $1.2120.
