Dow Jones Slumps Despite Stimulus Bill; Nike Stock Soars After Earnings; IBM Acquires Cloud Company
A stimulus bill is likely to pass Congress on Monday, but the stock market may be more concerned about a new strain of COVID-19 detected in the U.K. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down about 0.6% at 11:30 a.m. EST.
The $900 billion stimulus package includes direct payments to Americans, a boost to unemployment benefits, and an expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, among other items. The bill is much smaller than the $2 trillion CARES Act passed in March, but it will still provide significant aid as the pandemic continues to rage ahead of widespread availability of vaccines.
The next few months could be worse than expected if a variant of the novel coronavirus detected in the U.K. spreads widely. The variant was first identified in September and could be 70% more transmissible than the original virus, according to experts. Many countries have now suspended flights from the U.K., and London has been placed under the strictest tier of lockdown measures.
Source Fool.com
