Trump's COVID-19 announcement triggered an immediate sell-off in stock futures

Right after President Trump tweeted that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19, there was an immediate sell off in stock futures, ABC News reports.
Rebecca Jarvis, the network's chief business and economics correspondent, said "as it stands right now, the Dow is pointing down more than 500 points, meaning if the market were to open at this time, the stock market would be down more than 500 points." That is about 2 percent, Jarvis said, which in a percentage basis is "not a gigantic amount, but there is the immediacy to the news itself."
Jarvis also noted that in a few hours, the jobs report for September, the final one released before November's election, will come out, giving Americans a look at "the country's economic picture," and the news about Trump's health "also comes at a critical time for the country's economic health." Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 apps to help with travel budgeting
The Week Recommends Track expenses while on the go
-
Emil Bove: The start of a MAGA judiciary?
Feature President Trump's former personal attorney is on the verge of being confirmed by Senate Republicans
-
ICE builds detention camps and ramps up arrests
Feature The Trump administration's deportation efforts continue
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement