U.S. equities turned lower last week after three weeks of consecutive gains as market participants sounded a more cautious tone amid the continued rise in Covid-19 cases globally and uncertainty around stimulus negotiations and the upcoming U.S. elections.

U.S. equities managed to eke out small gains overall in last week’s choppy trading as investors digested the initial round of corporate earnings results and monitored progress towards a consensus on the next stimulus bill that continues to be out of reach.

U.S. equities surged to their best weekly gains in three months last week as the White House prepared a $1.8 trillion stimulus bill proposal and market participants looked ahead to the start of the third quarter earnings season, which is expected to mark the beginning of a turnaround for corporate earnings after a significant second quarter drawdown.

U.S. equities snapped a four-week consecutive stretch of losses last week but ended on a down note following the announcement that President Trump and the first lady had tested positive for Covid-19, along with several other White House staff members and visitors. The development injected further political uncertainty a month ahead of the presidential election and piled on to the September jobs report showing positive but slowing progress in the labor market recovery.

September has been a turbulent month for financial markets as U.S. equities broadly logged their fourth consecutive week of losses last week, the longest such streak in over a year. Investor sentiment was weighed down by concerns of an uptick in coronavirus cases in Europe and in the U.S. as well as by political uncertainty, including increasing skepticism on the likelihood of additional fiscal stimulus.