Markets open with drop following pre-Easter surge

Stock markets on Monday opened down, eating away at gains from one of their best short weeks on record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 200 points, or 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 was down 25 points, or 0.9 percent just after the opening bell.

Last week, which had only four trading days due to the trading holiday on Good Friday, saw stocks surge as some coronavirus hot spots seemed to make progress in flattening the infection curve, and estimates of overall U.S. deaths dropped. The S&P 500 was up nearly 12 percent, its best shortened trading week since 1974.

While still down around 17 percent from February highs, the markets have also recovered significantly from low points reached in March, which had wiped out over three years of gains.

But the economic outlook remains dire, with potential record-breaking unemployment expected and a major contraction expected in the second quarter of the year.

Democrats and Republicans are sparring over a follow-up to the $2.2 trillion economic recovery bill signed into law last month, with Republicans seeking to expand a small business lending fund and Democrats pushing for additional funding for states and medical facilities.