The Dow Jones Industrials gave up gains of as much as 900 points at one time, and lost 26.13 to 22,653.80.
The S&P 500 docked 4.27 points to 2,659.41
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 25.98 points to 7,887.26
Some investors believed stock prices were getting ahead of the reality where coronavirus shutdowns are likely to weigh on the economy significantly beyond the second quarter. The major averages have rallied about 20% from their March 23 lows.
The major averages rallied earlier in the day as investors cheered positive developments on the coronavirus.
In the U.S., the number of new cases appears to have fallen in recent days from their recent peak. On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported the state’s biggest one-day jump in deaths, but also said hospitalizations are slowing. Italy and Spain, two of the hardest-hit countries, are also seeing new cases fall off.
In Asia, South Korea reported less than 50 new cases of infection for the second day running. China also posted no new deaths as of April 6 for the first time since January when it started publishing daily updates.
The two Asian countries were among those which saw spikes in infection rates earlier in the outbreak, with the first cases being reported out of China.
Still, the cases in the U.S., the world’s most affected country, topped 386,000 with at least 10,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury lost ground, lifting yields to 0.73% from Monday’s 0.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.97 to $24.11 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices ditched $11.00 to $1,682.90 U.S. an ounce.