US stocks turn lower, Dow Jones drops over 340 points

US stock indices fell on Wednesday, erasing early gains, as anxiety continued over the escalating coronavirus crisis.

Wall Street was lifted earlier after the American company Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech announced on Wednesday that the recent data from the final phase of the clinical trials on their Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.

However, analysts believe that there is still a long way to go before the vaccine reaches everyone and eliminates the pandemic, especially as the number of infections keeps rising.

The US building permits index reached 1.55 million in October, lower than estimates of 1.57 million, while the housing starts index rose to 1.53 million units in October, beating forecasts of 1.45 million.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell yesterday renewed his calls to the US Congress to pass an additional fiscal stimulus bill to support the economy.

To the oil market, WTI crude December futures rose 0.9% or 39 cents, and closed at $41.82 a barrel, after hitting a day high of $42.4 and a low of $41.08.

Brent January futures rose 1.3% or 58 cents, and closed at $44.33 a barrel, after hitting a high of $44.8 and a low of $43.4.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 1.2% or 345 points, and closed at 29,438, after hitting a day high of 29,930, and a low of 29,432.

Nasdaq fell 0.8% or 97 points to 11,801, with a high of 11,942 and a low of 11,799.

S&P 500 fell 1.2% or 41 points to 3,567, after hitting a high of 3,619 and a low of 3,567.