S&P 500 Index opens deep in the negative territory

• Wall Street's main indexes are suffering heavy losses on Friday.
• Johnson & Johnson's disappointing vaccine report weighs on sentiment.
• All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory.

Major equity indexes in the US started the last day of the week sharply lower amid the ongoing battle between retail investors and institutions and concerning coronavirus headlines. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2% on the day at 30,255, the S&P 500 was losing 0.9% at 3,754 and the Nasdaq Composite was losing 0.8% at 13,096.

Reflecting the dismal market mood, the CBOE Volatility Index is up more than 5% on a daily basis. Earlier in the day, Johnson & Johnson reported that its COVID-19 vaccine was a disappointing 66% effective overall in the global trial.

All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory after the opening bell. The Communication Services Index is the biggest percentage decliner, down 1.6% on the day. The Real Estate, Energy and Technology indexes lose around 1.5%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)