por admin » Jue Mar 12, 2020 3:19 pm
Stocks Plunge 10% In Dow’s Worst Day Since 1987
Benchmarks slide as S&P, Nasdaq join Dow in bear-market territory
By Caitlin Ostroff, Joanne Chiu and Caitlin McCabe
Updated March 12, 2020 4:04 pm ET
The U.S. stocks selloff that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a bear market worsened Thursday as the coronavirus pandemic threatened to deeply harm global growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,352 points, or 10%, its sharpest decline since the October 1987 crash. The S&P 500 fell 9.5%, while the Nasdaq lost 9.4%, putting both of those indexes in bear-market territory for the first time since 2009.
The S&P shed more than 7% shortly after the opening bell, sending that index into bear market territory and triggering a 15-minute halt in trading. The drop marked the second time this week that a rarely-used circuit breaker was triggered.
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2020 Performance
Source: FactSet
As of March 12, 4:18 p.m. ET
%
Nasdaq Composite
Dow industrials
Jan. 13
Jan. 27
Feb. 10
Feb. 24
March 9
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
Yet there was little that could calm jittery investors throughout the day, even after central banks and governments attempted to assuage the markets. After markets resumed trading around 9:50 a.m., U.S. stocks plummeted. An early afternoon announcement by the Federal Reserve that it would pump more than $1.5 trillion into short-term funding markets initially pared some of those losses before stocks tumbled once again.
The Dow industrials traded down nearly 2,000 points at mid-afternoon Thursday, declining 8.6%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 8.2%, putting the tech-heavy index on track to finish the day in a bear market.
The S&P continued its losses, dropping 8.2% in the afternoon.
The steep drops across equities Thursday indicated yet again that, even as countries across the globe have stepped up to try to protect the economy, investors remain inclined to sell. This week, beyond the Fed’s announcement, the European Central Bank announced that it would roll out cheap loans for banks and step-up bond purchases, while President Trump’s administration outlined a series of steps to backstop the economy and certain sectors.
Even so, all three major indexes are down more than 14% for the week.
“Investors are uncertain about the near-term outcome and they’re trying desperately to price the risk,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer of Bryn Mawr Trust.
The stock declines followed a dizzying amount of new information about the economic fallout of coronavirus Wednesday night, which sent futures for all three indexes down to their maximum allowed decline of 5%. In a span of just a few hours, President Trump announced a 30-day ban on most travel from Europe to the U.S., the National Basketball Association suspended its season indefinitely, and an increasing number of colleges suspended classes.
“Last night we had so many things hitting us all at the same time,” said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Exencial Wealth Advisors. “With so many larger organizations and larger pieces of the economy now changing, it looks like life is going to be different for the next 30 or 60 days.”
“It’s hitting home now in a way that it wasn’t a few days ago,” he said.
Outside of the U.S., losses were broad. European equities also fell, with the Stoxx Europe 600 shedding 11.5%, putting the pan-continental gauge on course for its worst one-day performance on record.
Trump Announces Ban on Travel From Europe Amid Virus Concerns
0:00 / 2:11
Trump Announces Ban on Travel From Europe Amid Virus Concerns
Trump Announces Ban on Travel From Europe Amid Virus Concerns
In a nationwide address from the Oval Office, President Trump announced a 30-day travel ban from Europe and said he would seek $50 billion in funding to increase low-cost loans to small businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Associated Press
The fall for all three U.S. indexes into bear market territory comes just weeks after they each hit all-time highs. Since, the indexes have declined more than 25%, while U.S. Treasury yields and oil prices tumbled to historic lows this week.
By mid-day Thursday, in a sign of increasing investor anxiety, the yield on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury note fell to 0.793%, down from 0.817% the day before.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 8.8% to $32.66 a barrel, reflecting concerns about lower demand for jet fuel and other types of energy.
Meanwhile, the Cboe Volatility Index, a closely watched measure of volatility in the U.S. equity market, rose to its highest level since December 2008.
“Markets simply don’t know what the next steps are in terms of the virus spread,” said Edward Park, deputy chief investment officer at Brooks Macdonald. “We will see a dip in global growth in Q1 and Q2 and all the fiscal stimulus out there can’t avoid that.”
The prospects for global growth have dimmed in recent weeks, and a number of major multinational companies have said they expect their earnings to take a hit from the virus. The IHS Markit also pared its forecast for this year to 1.7%, saying this week that it expects zero growth in the eurozone, a contraction in Japan and expansion of just 4.3% in China this year.
Benchmark stock indexes of Germany, Franceand Italy since their recent peaks
Source: FactSet
As of March 12, 1:30 p.m. ET
%
StoxxEurope600
DAX
CAC 40
FTSEMIB
Feb. 24
March 2
March 9
-40
-35
-30
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
Even with readjusted forecasts, much remains uncertain, especially after global health officials declared the virus a pandemic on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, companies and exchanges are making contingency plans. The Chicago trading floor of CME Group said it will close at the end of Friday to preemptively avoid the spread of the virus. The New York Stock Exchange is also preparing a contingency plan in case it needs to close its iconic trading floor.
Some investors were disappointed Mr. Trump didn’t clearly articulate details of how he planned to get an economic stimulus package through Congress and the lack of coordination between the federal government and the Federal Reserve.
“What you really need is confidence building,” said Hani Redha, a London-based multiasset portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments. “That comes from giving detailed communication to the market about what they’re seeing and doing to develop the sense there’s a comprehensive approach.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index
Source: FactSet
As of March 12, 2:15 a.m. ET