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Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases in the USA (COVIDg), the Federal Fund Rate (FFR) and the trade-weighted US dollar index (USDX) on SPfirst, January 22, 2020, until March 30, 2020, reflecting uncertainty in the US markets and second, from April 1, 2020, until June 30, 2020, reflecting the lockdown Findings: Results of the MGARCH model reveal a negative and significant relation between COVIDg and SPincreasing fiscal measures by the US Government to increase liquidity on constraints;measures by The Federal Reserve to alleviate US dollar funding shortages;support market integrity;ensure continuous transparency and sharing of information;support the health sector, as well as consumer-based sectors that faced demand shocks and facilitate investments in the technology sector Originality/value: The originality of this paper lies in the examination of the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on each of the 11 sectors constituting the S&P500 index separately, reflecting how the main economic sectors formulating the US economy reacted to the shock during the peak time of the pandemic to observe a full picture of the economic consequences amid the pandemic © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited