As COVID-19 cases rise, markets look for government support

Stocks fell last week, with the S&P 500 declining 2.9 percent.

Investors became concerned as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to climb in the US and many other countries.

By Sunday, the global number of infections had exceeded 10 million while the death toll had reached half a million.

In the US, California on Sunday ordered some bars to close, the first major rollback of efforts to reopen the economy in the most populous US state. This followed similar moves in Texas and Florida on Friday.

David Russell, vice president of market intelligence with TradeStation, said that things look "worrisome".

"There will be a lot of difficulty predicting what earnings are going to be like with a disruption of this magnitude," said Russell.

However, some remain optimistic.

"Markets are clearly responding to the significant stimulus in the US and throughout the world," said Kent Insley, chief investment officer with Tiedemann Advisors. "Stocks still look more attractive over the long term compared to bonds."

"The government is providing so much support, so I'd be surprised if the market touches the March lows again," said Ted Swimmer, head of capital markets with Citizens Bank.

Sam Hendel, president of Levin Easterly Partners, said that while he is worried about heavily indebted energy firms and struggling travel and leisure companies, others like tech, consumer staples and health care have the "ballast to withstand an economic contraction".