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Stock market loses 4% to end ugly week
20-Mar-20 16:15 ET
Dow -913.21 at 19174.04, Nasdaq -271.06 at 6878.87, S&P -104.47 at 2304.92

https://www.briefing.com/stock-market-update

[BRIEFING.COM] An early rebound effort quickly turned into losses on this quadruple-witching expiration Friday, as investors continued to grapple with the persistent shutdown of the economy. The S&P 500 (-4.3%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (-4.6%), and Russell 2000 (-4.2%) declined more than 4.0%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 3.8%.

California ordered residents to stay at home, except for essential needs, until further notice last night, but stocks started today's session on a higher note amid hopes for a rebound. It wasn't until New York announced similar stay-at-home restrictions that optimism started to unravel, as it contributed to the notion that more states will follow suit to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Later, London announced the closure of pubs and restaurants, New Jersey ordered non-essential businesses to close, and the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois will issue its own shelter-in-place order. President Trump also said that the southern border with Mexico will be closed to non-essential travel.

Washington continued to work on a $1 trillion+ stimulus package to soften the economic impact caused by these disruptions, but today's orderly retreat suggested that it might not be enough to meaningfully address the magnitude of these shutdowns. According to Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin believes the stimulus bill is too small.

Losses were widespread, but the energy sector (+1.0%) was able to buck the broader trend, and trim its huge weekly decline, despite an 8% decline in oil prices ($23.73/bbl, -2.17, -8.4%). The utilities (-8.2%) and consumer staples (-6.5%) sectors were today's weakest performers.

The Fed remained active in trying to further support the financial system. On Friday, the Fed expanded its Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF) to accept municipal debt and stepped up its purchases of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities. The New York Fed said it will now conduct two repo operations totaling $1 trillion for the rest of the month.

U.S. Treasuries gained buying interest amid the selling in equities and actions taken by the Fed. The 2-yr yield declined three basis points to 0.37%, and the 10-yr yield declined 18 basis points to 0.94%. The U.S. Dollar Index finished flat at 102.72.

Friday's economic data was limited to Existing Home Sales, which increased 6.5% m/m in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units (Briefing.com consensus 5.50 million). This follows a downwardly revised 5.42 million (from 5.46 million) in January.

The key takeaway from the report is that existing home sales activity was robust in February based on contract signings that happened in December and January. Next month could look reasonably good, too, but the excitement over this report has been tempered by expectations that a meaningful slowdown will soon follow because of the coronavirus impact.

Looking ahead, the NYSE will temporarily shift to fully electronic trading on Monday and investors will not receive any notable economic data.

Nasdaq Composite: -23.3%
S&P 500: -28.7%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -32.8%
Russell 2000: -39.2%

Market Snapshot
Dow 19174.04 -913.21 (-4.55%)
Nasdaq 6878.87 -271.06 (-3.79%)
SP 500 2304.92 -104.47 (-4.34%)
10-yr Note +27/32 0.881
NYSE Adv 1295 Dec 1617 Vol 2.7 bln
Nasdaq Adv 1303 Dec 1971 Vol 5.2 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Energy
Weak: Utilities, Consumer Staples

Moving the Market

-- Stock market loses 4% as economies continue to shut down

-- New York and California order stay-at-home restrictions

-- Fed announces it will increase daily repo operations to $1 trillion

-- Heavy volume on this quadruple-witching expiration day

WTI crude falls 8% after yesterday's rebound
20-Mar-20 15:35 ET
Dow -478.19 at 19609.06, Nasdaq -129.72 at 7020.21, S&P -60.52 at 2348.87

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is down 2.6% and is on pace to end the week down more than 13%.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows all 11 sectors trading lower, although the energy sector is down just 0.3%. Interestingly, the defensive-oriented utilities (-4.8%) and consumer staples (-4.7%) are among today's weakest performers.

WTI crude settled down $2.17 (-8.4%) to $23.73/bbl following yesterday's 23% rebound.