US STOCKS-Wall Street ends lower as coronavirus surge prompts renewed restrictions

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
(Updates to market close)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes
tumbled on Friday as several U.S. states imposed business
restrictions in response to a surge in coronavirus cases.
Several U.S. states that were spared the brunt of the
initial coronavirus outbreak or moved early to lift
restrictions are seeing a resurgence in new infections. On
Friday, Texas and Florida ordered bars to close down again.
"You're seeing a pretty dramatic increase in cases," said
Kevin Grogan, managing director of investment strategy at
Buckingham Strategic Wealth in St. Louis. "If people start
feeling again like it's not safe to eat out or go shopping, that
could have a really negative impact on the stock market."
A Wall Street Journal report that the Phase 1 U.S.-China
trade deal could be at risk placed additional pressure on U.S.
stocks. According to that report, Chinese officials warned that
"meddling" in Hong Kong and Taiwan could lead Beijing to back
away from its commitment to purchase U.S. farm goods.
"It added another log into the risk aversion fire," said
Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York, of the
report on China.
Among sectors, financial, communication services and energy
shares outpaced the broader S&P 500 in declines. Bank shares
.SPXBK plummeted after the Federal Reserve limited dividend
payments and barred share repurchases until at least the fourth
quarter following its annual stress test. Renewed concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic has
threatened to derail a strong rally for Wall Street that has
erased much of the S&P 500's steep losses from March. During
Friday's session, the S&P 500 traded below its 200-day moving
average, an indicator of long-term momentum.
The uptick in coronavirus cases likely triggered a test of
that technical level, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment
strategist at The Leuthold Group in Minneapolis.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
732.97 points, or 2.85%, to 25,012.63, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
74.9 points, or 2.43%, to 3,008.86 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 258.92 points, or 2.58%, to 9,758.08.
Facebook Inc FB.O shares tumbled after Unilever PLC
ULVR.L and Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N joined an
advertising boycott that called out the social media giant for
not doing enough to stop hate speech on its platforms.
Nike Inc NKE.N shares dropped as the footwear maker, hurt
by store closures due to the pandemic, posted a surprise
quarterly loss. Gap Inc GPS.N shares surged after the retail chain entered
a 10-year deal with rapper and fashion designer Kanye West to
create a line of clothing under his Yeezy brand. Friday also marked the reconstitution of the FTSE Russell
indexes, including the large-cap Russell 1000 .RUI and
small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT .