Stocks open flat following 4 days of losses

U.S. stock markets opened relatively flat on Tuesday after four days of losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 17 points, or 0.1 percent, and the S&P 500 was up 16 points, or 0.5 percent.

After a record August, stocks have been volatile in September, coming down from newfound heights amid concerns over COVID-19, lack of progress on a new stimulus package and some concerns of a bubble.

For much of the trading day Monday, the Dow was down over 800 points before closing with a 500-point loss.

The volatility come with just six weeks until the presidential election, and amid a raucous partisan battle over filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat.

A spike in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the U.K. has also threatened renewed lockdowns, raising concerns over global economic prospects in the coming year.