(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks swung between gains and losses in the last hour of trading after Arizona and Florida reported their biggest increases in new Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began and Apple said it would close some stores in those states. Oil turned positive after briefly dropping into the red.The S&P 500 fell as much as 1% before paring the drop, with declines posted by industrial, real estate and financial shares. On the week, the benchmark index is up about 2.4%. Stocks had rallied at the start of U.S. trading amid reports that China plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods to comply with the phase one trade deal boosted risk appetite. Still, with uncertainty over how quickly economies can emerge from lockdowns, and a welter of options set to expire in a quarterly event know as quadruple witching, investors are being whipsawed by bouts of volatility.“That’s a worrisome sign for markets,”said Matt Forester, chief investment officer of BNY Mellon’s Lockwood Advisors. “This is a continuation of the first wave, this is not a second wave.”In Europe, investors focused on negotiations over the EU’s proposed 750 billion-euro ($840 billion) program to help economies rebound from lockdowns, which helped send the Stoxx 600 Index up about 0.6%.After a brief swoon, equity markets were back in rally mode this week as investors bet that governments will be able to put their economies back on track with enough stimulus at their disposal. U.S. and European benchmarks clawed back much of last week’s losses that were spurred by concern over a second wave of coronavirus infections.Elsewhere, crude oil swung between gains and losses after advanced beyond $40 a barrel.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
