Wall Street dives, ends worst week since 2008, as New York, California impose restrictions

[rooster59]

Wall Street dives, ends worst week since 2008, as New York, California impose restrictions

By Caroline Valetkevitch

 

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street wrapped up its worst week since October 2008, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 sliding more than 4% on Friday as tough restrictions imposed by New York and California to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus fueled worries about damage to the U.S. economy.

 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo early on Friday ordered all non-essential workers to stay home. It followed on the heels of California's statewide "stay at home" order issued late Thursday.

 

The moves by two of the most populous U.S. states affects some 40 million people. Also, federal authorities this week moved to close the borders with Canada and Mexico, with more than 12,000 cases having been confirmed in the United States as of Friday.

 

"The equity markets are still trying to get a handle on how bad the economy is going to be, and I think news of entire states being closed probably qualifies as incrementally negative," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.

 

It affects "a lot of economic activity and a lot of businesses," Delwiche said.

 

In early trade, the market briefly attempted to build on Thursday's gains as global policymakers turned on the taps to prop up financial markets reeling from weeks of heavy selling that ended Wall Street's record 11-year bull run.

 

Coronavirus fears have wiped off almost 32%, or roughly $9 trillion, from the value of the benchmark S&P index since its record closing high on Feb. 19.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 913.21 points, or 4.55%, to 19,173.98, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 104.47 points, or 4.34%, to 2,304.92 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 271.06 points, or 3.79%, to 6,879.52.

 

Friday's drop left the Dow down 3% from when President Trump took office in January 2017.

 

All three major indexes registered their biggest weekly declines since October 2008, although the Cboe Volatility index <.VIX> - Wall Street's fear gauge - ended the day down at 66.04, in what some investors saw as a sign that selling may subside.

 

Investors are now counting on further stimulus over the next few days, as the U.S. Senate mulls a $1 trillion package that would include direct financial help for Americans.

 

"The bottom line here is the market is clearly actively anticipating the fiscal stimulus plan. It's almost like we're going to continue to be in these volatile swings until we get a little more clarity on how large that plan is," said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

A Reuters poll of economists suggested the global economy was already in recession, while analysts at U.S. stock market index operator S&P Global said volatility across geographies and asset classes was at record highs.

 

"Quadruple witching" added to choppy trading on Friday, with investors unwinding positions in futures and options contracts before their expiration.

 

AT&T Inc <T.N> tumbled 8.7% as the wireless carrier said the outbreak might have a material impact on financial results and canceled a $4 billion share repurchase agreement.

 

The airlines sector <.SPCOMAIR> rose 2.4% after losing more than half its value since late February.

 

S&P 500 utilities <.SPLRCU> fell 8.2% on the day, leading sector declines.

 

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.27-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.55-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

 

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 94 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 5 new highs and 257 new lows.

 

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 18.56 billion shares, compared to the 15.5 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

 

(Additional reporting by Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham and David Gregorio)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-21

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

[Tug]

It’s probably going to get worse much worse and all the tools have Ben used allready to keep trumps stock rally going as the saying goes everything trump touches dies

[J Town]

Biden may STILL have a chance. The only thing Trump was gonna run on was the economy. Difficult to predict how long this will last, but this doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

[bristolboy]

14 minutes ago, J Town said:

Biden may STILL have a chance. The only thing Trump was gonna run on was the economy. Difficult to predict how long this will last, but this doesn't look like it's going away any time soon.

How about Biden running on the fact that Trump supports a lawsuit that will do away with pre-existing conditions? You think that  might be an issue of even higher concern than it was during the 2018 midterms?

[lannarebirth]

31 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

How about Biden running on the fact that Trump supports a lawsuit that will do away with pre-existing conditions? You think that  might be an issue of even higher concern than it was during the 2018 midterms?

You've got to be able to judge the public mood. I think someone who is incrementally better than someone who is by all accounts, horrendous, is probably not going to sway the public much. They might get it over in 2020, but be prepared for a populist uprising never before seen in this country. Bernie and Trump will seem like centrists by comparison to what's coming.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by lannarebirth

[bristolboy]

5 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

You've got to be able to judge the public mood. I think someone who is incrementally better than someone who is by all accounts, horrendous, is probably not going to sway the public much. They might get it over in 2020, but be prepared for a populist uprising never before seen in this country. Bernie and Trump will seem like centrists by comparison to what's coming.

 

 

Incrementally better? Really? Millions of Americans stand to lose their insurance. Millions more will lose medicaid. Rules that allow for children up to 26 years of age to be covered will disappear. There's even more. And keep in mind that Biden is proposing a big expansion of ACA. So it not just a choice between the status quo and the elimination of the ACA. Your notion that the differences are incremental is untrue.

[lannarebirth]

3 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Incrementally better? Really? Millions of Americans stand to lose their insurance. Millions more will lose medicaid. Rules that allow for children up to 26 years of age to be covered will disappear. There's even more. And keep in mind that Biden is proposing a big expansion of ACA. So it not just a choice between the status quo and the elimination of the ACA. Your notion that the differences are incremental is untrue.

 

C'mon man. That's not going to happen. Thing's have changed. You can come back and call me an idiot if I'm wrong.

[J Town]

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

How about Biden running on the fact that Trump supports a lawsuit that will do away with pre-existing conditions? You think that  might be an issue of even higher concern than it was during the 2018 midterms?

We all know the what the real deal is. You will not change any minds from now until election day. Trump supporters come out and vote with an enviable vehemence. Democrats, not so much.

[Chomper Higgot]

5 minutes ago, J Town said:

We all know the what the real deal is. You will not change any minds from now until election day. Trump supporters come out and vote with an enviable vehemence. Democrats, not so much.

2018 demonstrates otherwise.

[klauskunkel]

The OP photo caption:

Quote

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 20, 2020

... and none of them is wearing a face mask, in a crowded room with spittle flying everywhere...

[Brickbat]

The damage being done is in Trillions. Yes, starts with a T. And once this virus is canned, the road to recovery will be slow. We are already in debt over our ears, and many who are on the edge will go to the wall. As in most crashes, the second wave is bigger, so I expect April to be a bigger dump on the indexes. 
Bet a Trump did not see this coming....and so soon to the elections.

Pres Xi is having the last laugh on Trump’s Trade war.

[Mac98]

4 hours ago, J Town said:

We all know the what the real deal is. You will not change any minds from now until election day. Trump supporters come out and vote with an enviable vehemence. Democrats, not so much.

Older voters prefer Trump. There won't be so many of them come November.

[CNXexpat]

4 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

The OP photo caption:

... and none of them is wearing a face mask, in a crowded room with spittle flying everywhere...

Read what the WHO says about wearing a mask

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

[khaowong1]

8 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

2018 demonstrates otherwise.

The Republicans messed up.  It won't happen this time.  

[Nigel Garvie]

4 hours ago, Jonnapat said:

Superbly put together clip which clearly shows that this President is totally off his trolley. 

He has followed this up by widely recommending chloroquine. There are some signs that it may be moderately helpful, only proper trials will establish that. 45 has no time for trials, he is utterly desperate and clutching at straws. Science takes time but he has none. He knows if the economy goes down the tubes, as it is doing already, his re-election chances will disappear like snow of a dyke. The federal charges are waiting for him, when immunity disappears,  and potentially years in prison. 

 

Tragically, some people in Nigeria who are too uneducated or stupid to see that 45 is a nutter, have already died from chloroquine overdoses. 

[Cryingdick]

6 hours ago, Brickbat said:

The damage being done is in Trillions. Yes, starts with a T. And once this virus is canned, the road to recovery will be slow. We are already in debt over our ears, and many who are on the edge will go to the wall. As in most crashes, the second wave is bigger, so I expect April to be a bigger dump on the indexes. 
Bet a Trump did not see this coming....and so soon to the elections.

Pres Xi is having the last laugh on Trump’s Trade war.

 

You realize that China has it even worse and if the USA stops consuming China has nobody to sell to. Let's not even get into the state of Europe. I don't think you will find Xi is laughing about anything. It isn't always this overly simplistic zero sum game of USA bad XI laugh.

 

 

[Gweiloman]

18 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

You realize that China has it even worse and if the USA stops consuming China has nobody to sell to. Let's not even get into the state of Europe. I don't think you will find Xi is laughing about anything. It isn't always this overly simplistic zero sum game of USA bad XI laugh.

 

 

When the world recovers, the pent-up demand for parts that come from China’s supply chain will be so huge that America will be at the back of the line. And any tariffs that Trump fantasise about will be borne by the consumer, not China. 
I’m loving this Chinese virus lol. 

[Cryingdick]

5 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

When the world recovers, the pent-up demand for parts that come from China’s supply chain will be so huge that America will be at the back of the line. And any tariffs that Trump fantasise about will be borne by the consumer, not China. 
I’m loving this Chinese virus lol. 

 

Who is buying? Europe could pool their money together and not be able to afford a pair of Chinese made Air Jordans. 

[Isaan sailor]

Amazing liberal comments—it seems you actually welcome a recession as a way to get Sleepy Joe into the White House.  Or, perhaps you celebrate China’s Wuhan Virus as the agent of wonderful change.

[candide]

31 minutes ago, Isaan sailor said:

Amazing liberal comments—it seems you actually welcome a recession as a way to get Sleepy Joe into the White House.  Or, perhaps you celebrate China’s Wuhan Virus as the agent of wonderful change.

The usual BS

[Cryingdick]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Amazing liberal comments—it seems you actually welcome a recession as a way to get Sleepy Joe into the White House.  Or, perhaps you celebrate China’s Wuhan Virus as the agent of wonderful change.

They don't seem to realize that liberal locations are by far the most vulnerable. SF especially. Can you even imagine how they would handle a sizable quake right now? A little circumspection might be in order.

[Chomper Higgot]

19 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

They don't seem to realize that liberal locations are by far the most vulnerable. SF especially. Can you even imagine how they would handle a sizable quake right now? A little circumspection might be in order.

Now who’s hoping for disasters to strike their political opponents?!

[Cryingdick]

10 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Now who’s hoping for disasters to strike their political opponents?!

I have wished ill on anybody. I knew I would be attacked but I am actually just making a valid observation. Nobody wants this to grow and if you live in an area that's otherwise vulnerable it could get ugly. 

 

Think of bad power grids and heat in Arizona and similar things. If things do not go pretty much perfectly for at least a couple of months it could be rough. On the bright side it isn't wildfire season or hurricane season.

 

However there are flood warnings out here in the east and some could be quite severe. In such a scenario you could get hundreds or thousands of people displaced and right now red, blue or purple that's a big problem.

Edited March 22, 2020 by Cryingdick

[Tug]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Amazing liberal comments—it seems you actually welcome a recession as a way to get Sleepy Joe into the White House.  Or, perhaps you celebrate China’s Wuhan Virus as the agent of wonderful change.

I don’t know anybody celebrating the deaths of thousands the ruination of many lives or the destruction of ours or anybody’s economy now as far as getting competent leadership in the White House absolutely the entire world will be relived when trump is sent packing 

[Ricohoc]

42 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

They don't seem to realize that liberal locations are by far the most vulnerable. SF especially. Can you even imagine how they would handle a sizable quake right now? A little circumspection might be in order.

Exactly.

 

Even before this virus hysteria began, there were major concerns in the cities/states hardest hit by the virus of contagious diseases that would be borne out of feces on the streets, homelessness and unsanitary conditions, fugitive cities, and the used drug needles everywhere.  But they banned plastic straws and plastic shopping bags.  Priorities.

[Cryingdick]

1 minute ago, Tug said:

I don’t know anybody celebrating the deaths of thousands the ruination of many lives or the destruction of ours or anybody’s economy now as far as getting competent leadership in the White House absolutely the entire world will be relived when trump is sent packing 

 

Bill Mahrer wanted a recession to get rid of Trump so did many others. They got what they wanted it seems.

[Ricohoc]

1 minute ago, Tug said:

... the entire world will be relived when trump is sent packing 

To be replaced by competent and mentally alert Joe Biden.  Okay.

I don't think that even Democrats are confident with Ole Joe in charge.  The advantage to Joe right now is that he doesn't have to do anything.  They can continue to hide his lack of mental acuity and hope that it doesn't degenerate further by the time he has to appear in public -- or debate.

[bartender100]

DOW futures already another 5% down, I thought Buffet called the bottom?

[Cryingdick]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

I have wished ill on anybody. I knew I would be attacked but I am actually just making a valid observation. Nobody wants this to grow and if you live in an area that's otherwise vulnerable it could get ugly. 

 

Think of bad power grids and heat in Arizona and similar things. If things do not go pretty much perfectly for at least a couple of months it could be rough. On the bright side it isn't wildfire season or hurricane season.

 

However there are flood warnings out here in the east and some could be quite severe. In such a scenario you could get hundreds or thousands of people displaced and right now red, blue or purple that's a big problem.

This should read I haven't...

[Cryingdick]

8 minutes ago, bartender100 said:

DOW futures already another 5% down, I thought Buffet called the bottom?

 

That's good to know especially as futures don't trade until 5pm eastern time on Sunday. 

Edited March 22, 2020 by Cryingdick