Dow tumbles 540 points amid surging COVID-19 cases

• US stocks declined in the first trading session of 2021 on Monday as investors weighed another spike in virus cases.
• Bitcoin saw a volatile trading session on Monday after it fell 17% following a surge to record highs just below $35,000.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks declined in the first trading session of 2021 on Monday as investors weighed another spike in virus cases.

Bitcoin surged and then dropped in a volatile trading session. The popular cryptocurrency hit record highs just below $35,000 on Sunday before falling as much as 17% in Monday trades to levels not seen since last week. Bitcoin's fall was its steepest since March.

Here's where US indexes stood at 11:40 a.m. ET on Monday:

• S&P 500: 3,698.19, down 1.5%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 30,069.80, down 1.8% (537 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 12,719.10, down 1.3%

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Tesla jumped after it said it delivered nearly 500,000 electric vehicles in 2020, besting Wall Street expectations and falling just a few hundred vehicles short of its delivery target.

Nio was following in Tesla's footsteps after it reported record December and fourth quarter delivery numbers. The stock jumped as much as 12%.

Herbalife fell after billionaire investor Carl Icahn sold $600 million worth of shares in the company and gave up board seats.

Oil prices tumbled. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped as much as 2.6%, to $47.25 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, declined 2.1%, to $50.73 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Gold jumped as much as 2.4%, to $1,944.52 per ounce.

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