AAXJ

While the relentless spread of the coronavirus drove the equity market lower on Monday, there were also signs investors are preparing for a greater possibility that Democrats will gain control of the U.S. Senate.

Three big players have long made up the majority of the $5.4 trillion U.S. exchange-traded fund industry, but their latest offerings were also-rans in a record year for new product launches.

Chinese stocks listed in the U.S., including China Telecom Corp. and Pinduoduo Inc., fell on the prospect of further sanctions that would remove more of the Asian nation’s biggest companies from American stock exchanges.

Gold powered to the highest level in almost two months above $1,900 an ounce, aided by a weaker dollar, building on the biggest annual advance in a decade. Silver also surged on the first full trading day of the new year, while platinum advanced to its priciest since 2016.

The largest product from Cathie Wood’s prominent exchange-traded fund lineup did something unusual on Tuesday -- it posted outflows.

Vaccine developers, electric-vehicle startups and a bankrupt car-rental company captured the imagination of individual investors in 2020 as Reddit chat rooms touted the so-called meme stocks as the next big winners.