U.S. stocks fell aggressively Monday on concern a rebound in Covid cases would slow global economic growth. The selling picked up as the session went on, US Stocks had their worst day since last October.  Stocks leading the sell-off were tied to the economy being open like airlines, hotels, and energy names.

The nation’s homebuilders continue to be thrilled with buyer demand, but higher construction costs are starting to eat away at their confidence.  A monthly sentiment index from the National Association of Home Builders dropped 1 point to 80 in July. The index stood at 72 in July 2020. Anything above 50 is considered positive. The index hit a record high of 90 in November of last year. While lumber prices have fallen by more than 50% in the lumber futures market, those savings have not yet trickled down to builders, remodelers or consumers. Supply chain issues, as well as low inventory with suppliers, are both keeping retail prices elevated.

The Covid-19 recession is in the books as one of the deepest — but also the shortest — in U.S. history, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the contraction lasted just two months, from February 2020 to Aprill 2020.  Though the drop featured a staggering 31.4% GDP plunge in the second quarter, it also saw a massive snapback the following period, with previously unheard of policy stimulus boosting GDP output by 33.4%.