Dow suffers the worst day in about 3 weeks and the oil ends in correction territory as investors analyze Yellen-Powell’s testimony

US stocks ended solidly low on Tuesday, with the first of two days of testimony by Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the state of the government’s efforts to limit the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded without major surprises. However, growing concerns about prolonged blockages in Europe due to the COVID pandemic have helped to reduce risk appetite and push crude oil futures CL.1,
-0.61%
in a correction, defined as a decline of at least 10% from a recent peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at around 335 points, or 1%, below 32,395, marking its worst day since March 4. The S&P 500 SPX index,
-0.76%
closed 0.8% to around 3,910, driven by declines in industrial XLI,
-1.75%
and XLM materials,
-6.95%,
while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,
-1.12%
the session ended 1.1% lower at around 13,228. The fall in shares accelerated at the end of the session and came even with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y,
1.626%
fell by almost 6 basis points to 1.63%. Bond prices rise as yields fall.