Stocks close sharply lower in first trading session of 2021 on election and virus worries Wall Street moved sharply lower to start the new year as Tuesday's runoff elections in Georgia present a risk and the ongoing surge in new virus cases and increasingly stringent lockdowns are amplifying investor worries about the near-term outlook. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., Markit's manufacturing index was bumped to 57.1 in the final December print, up from 56.5 in the preliminary look and a 56.7 reading in November. Construction spending beat estimates with a 0.9% rise in November. Data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 85.3M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 20.7M in the U.S., and 1.85M deaths due to the disease, including about 352,000 in the U.S. In the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that England's schools will remain closed for most students until mid-February as the country went back into a nationwide lockdown, according to Bloomberg. TOP NEWS: Tesla ($TSLA) shares rose 3.4% after the company reported over the weekend that it delivered 180,570 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter and produced 179,757 vehicles total. The carmaker also said it delivered 499,550 units in 2020, versus its recent guidance of 500,000 vehicles, and produced 509,737 total. Shares of Moderna ($MRNA) gained 7% after the company provided a supply update for its COVID-19 vaccine, saying that it expects roughly 100M doses of the vaccine being available in the U.S. by the end of the first quarter. The company added that roughly 18M vaccine doses have been supplied to the U.S. government to date. Meanwhile, CNBC reported that Haven, the healthcare joint venture formed by Amazon ($AMZN), Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) and JPMorgan Chase ($JPM), is disbanding after three years. The venture will shut down by the end of next month and many of its 57 employees are expected to be placed at Amazon, Berkshire or JPMorgan as the companies individually proceed in their efforts. The three firms will still collaborate informally on healthcare, according to CNBC. In M&A news, Centene ($CNC) agreed to acquire Magellan Health ($MGLN) for $95 per share in cash for a total enterprise value of $2.2B. Centene and Magellan Health expect to complete the transaction in the second half of 2021. In addition, Teledyne ($TDY) has agreed to acquire FLIR Systems ($FLIR) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $8B. Under the terms of the agreement, FLIR stockholders will receive $28.00 per share in cash and 0.0718 shares of Teledyne common stock for each FLIR share, which implies a total purchase price of $56.00 per FLIR share based on Teledyne's 5-day volume weighted average price as of December 31, 2020. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was The9 ($NCTY), which gained 87% after the company announced the signing of a term sheet with mining investors to start a cryptocurrencies business. Also higher was ViewRay ($VRAY), which rose almost 68% after providing Q4 and FY20 revenue guidance. Among the notable losers was Calithera ($CALA), which dropped 44.6% after reporting that its CANTATA study did not meet its primary endpoint. Also lower was Alaska Communications ($ALSK), which fell 10.6% to $3.28 per share after ATN International ($ATNI) announced that it has agreed to acquire the company in an all cash transaction valued at approximately $332M, including outstanding net debt. ATN shares were 6.7% higher after the news. Reviewing Monday's economic data:Total construction spending increased 0.9% in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.9%) after increasing a revised 1.6% (from 1.3%) in October. Total private construction spending rose 1.2% m/m and total public construction spending decreased 0.2%.The key takeaway from the report is that residential construction spending showed strength for another month as mortgage rates remained low, supporting demand for homes outside urban areas.The December IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI increased to 57.1 from 56.5 in November.Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.3% YTDNasdaq Composite -1.5% YTDRussell 2000 -1.5% YTDS&P 500 -1.5% YTDMarket SnapshotDow30223.83-382.59(-1.25%)Nasdaq12698.45-189.84(-1.47%)SP 5003700.65-55.42(-1.48%)10-yr Note 0/320.916NYSEAdv 911 Dec 2188 Vol 1.2 blnNasdaqAdv 1570 Dec 2147 Vol 6.4 blnIndustry WatchStrong: EnergyWeak: Information Technology, Industrials, Real Estate, UtilitiesMoving the Market-- Major indices retraced opening gains and posted noticeable declines amid widespread selling pressure-- Profit-taking interest-- Some focus on tomorrow's Senate election runoffs in Georgia Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. 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