US STOCKS-Wall St hits near 7-week low on virus fears, stimulus fog

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* Shares of airline, cruise, hotel and casino companies
tumble
* Big lenders fall on reports banks moved illicit funds
* Nikola crashes as founder resigns; GM shares fall
* Indexes down: Dow 2.13%, S&P 500 1.80%, Nasdaq 1.32%

(Updates to open)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Sept 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes hit their
lowest in nearly seven weeks on Monday as concerns about fresh
coronavirus-driven lockdowns and the inability of Congress to
agree on more fiscal stimulus raised fears about another hit to
the domestic economy.
All the major S&P indexes were down, with energy .SPNY
leading declines as oil prices slid on the possible return of
Libyan production and rising coronavirus cases. O/R
Wall Street's main indexes have tumbled in the past three
weeks as investors dumped heavyweight technology-related stocks
following a stunning rally that returned the S&P 500 and the
Nasdaq to record highs.
Another round of business restrictions will threaten a
nascent recovery in the wider economy and add further pressure
on equity markets, analysts said. The first round of lockdowns
in March had led the S&P 500 .SPX to suffer its worst monthly
decline since the global financial crisis. US/
"We've been in a momentum type trading market now for
weeks," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments,
a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.
"When the market ran up, its biggest reason was people
wanted to get in before it was even higher. And now people are
becoming nervous that the almost extraordinary gains for this
year will all be given back."
Thomas Mantione, managing director at UBS Private Wealth
Management in Stamford, Connecticut, said the passing of U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also decreases the
chances of another fiscal stimulus package to help lift the
domestic economy from a deep recession.
"You've now put yet another negotiating factor into that
fiscal stimulus policy response, which makes it even less likely
to pass before the November election," Mantione said.
Congress has for weeks remained deadlocked over the size and
shape of a fifth coronavirus-response bill, on top of the
approximately $3 trillion already enacted into law. At 10:02 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 588.64 points, or 2.13%, at 27,068.78, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 59.80 points, or 1.80%, at 3,259.67, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 142.45 points, or 1.32%, at
10,650.83.
The CBOE Market Volatility index .VIX , a measure of
investor anxiety, shot up to its highest level in nearly two
weeks.
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Bank of New York Mellon Corp
BK.N fell 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively, on reports that several
global banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over
nearly two decades despite red flags about the origins of the
money. The S&P banking subindex .SPXBK lost 2.1%.
Nikola Corp NKLA.O crashed 17.9% after its founder Trevor
Milton stepped down as executive chairman following a public
squabble with a short-seller over allegations of nepotism and
fraud. General Motors Co GM.N , which took an 11% stake in Nikola
for about $2 billion earlier this month, slipped 5%.
Airline, hotel and cruise companies tracked declines in
their European peers as the UK signalled the possibility of a
second national lockdown. .EU
Declining issues outnumbered advancers 8.60-to-1 on the NYSE
and 5.27-to-1 on the Nasdaq
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded eight new highs and 21 new lows.