U.S. stocks erased all their earlier gains on Tuesday as tech and staples rolled over and pushed the Dow into negative territory by the closing bell, ruining a 900-point rally from the morning hours. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all began the session higher as positive coronavirus headlines boosted investor confidence that the worst of the disease could be nearly over. Here's what's happening:
4:04 pm: Stocks finish lower, Dow squanders 900-point rally as utilities and staples lag
The S&P 500, Dow industrials and Nasdaq all finished Tuesday lower as selling in the final hour of trade pushed the major indexes into negative territory. Investors cited profit-taking, a 9% slide in oil and pessimism from Goldman Sachs as potential headwinds during the session. The Dow, at one point up more than 900 points (3.9%), finished the day down 26 points. The S&P 500 dropped 0.16%.
The consumer staples and utilities sectors led the major indexes lower. MSCI, Atmos Energy and Boeing performed the worst in the S&P 500, while Kohl's, Capri and PVH led. Goldman Sachs provided the most upward pressure on the Dow but losses from Boeing and others more than offset the gainers. — Franck
3:55 pm: Cyclical strength a bullish signal for markets, Wilson says
Morgan Stanley CIO Mike Wilson said on "Closing Bell" that the performance of cyclical stocks in recent days is a sign that the market has bottomed and could rise further. "The thing I like about today's action — I know the prices did fade — we are seeing more cyclical leadership here over the last week, and even today we're seeing more cyclical leadership," Wilson said. "Which I think is healthy, because what that suggests is that as you go into recession, the market wants to look to the other side, and what the market will do is start to buy these early cycle stocks when it thinks we're getting closer to the trough." Consumer stocks like Kohl's and Darden Restaurants are some of the biggest winners in the S&P 500 on Tuesday. — Pound
3:33 pm: Dow gives up 900-point rally, turns negative
The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned negative with about half an hour left in the session. The blue-chip benchmark erased an earlier 900-point gain, with Boeing and Procter & Gamble leading the index lower. The S&P 500 last traded up 0.3%. — Li
3:24 pm: Utilities, consumer staples lead S&P 500 decliners
The utilities and consumer staples sectors led S&P 500 decliners in the final hour of trading on Tuesday, dragging the broad market index well off its 3% rally hit earlier in the session. Household names like Church & Dwight, Procter & Gamble, Kroger and Walmart all led staples lower, each down at least 2%. Utility companies Atmos Energy and WEC Energy were each down at least 4%. — Franck
3:05 pm: Market rally loses steam, Dow only up 100 points
With roughly one hour left in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up about 100 points a sharp slide from highs hit earlier in the session. The 30-stock benchmark jumped 937 points at its session high, but a 9% plunge in oil prices weighed on sentiment. The S&P 500 last traded up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite turned negative as a couple of mega-cap tech companies rolled over, including Apple and Microsoft. — Li
3:00 pm: Goldman Sachs' chief equity strategist says beware this rally: 'Risk to the downside is greater'
Goldman Sachs' chief equity strategist warned investors about getting too excited about the recent rally in stocks. "Risk to the downside is greater than the opportunity to the upside from this point where we stand today," Goldman Sachs chief equity strategist David Kostin told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday. While many investors are calling a bottom to the coronavirus bear market, Kostin recalled head-fake rallies during the financial crisis recovery as evidence the current uptick in equities may be short-lived. "I would just remind you that in 2008 in the fourth quarter there were many different rallies, I call them bear market rallies, some of which almost 20% a couple of times — but the market did not bottom until March of 2009," Kostin expounded. — Fitzgerald
2:45 pm: Bernanke sees no 'real danger' from Fed efforts to help
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn't see any danger in the unprecedented efforts the central bank is making to try to pull the economy through the coronavirus crisis. Though the Fed balance sheet continues to grow – likely past $6 trillion this week – Bernanke said the efforts are necessary. "The Fed does have the capacity to increase its balance sheet and appears willing to do so significantly," Bernanke said during a webinar presented by the Brookings Institution, where he is a fellow. "I think that's appropriate. I don't think there's any real danger from that."
The Fed in the past few weeks has broken out a slew of credit facilities aimed at keeping markets functioning properly and supporting the economy. Even with high levels of debt the government is running up, Bernanke said he doesn't see inflation as a threat, either. — Cox
2:10 pm: Mnuchin seeks additional $250 billion for small business aid
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a tweet Tuesday that he's requesting lawmakers approve an additional $250 billion in funding for the small business loan program on top of the $350 billion Congress approved late last month. His tweet came with the Senate scheduled to vote on the funding on Thursday. Mnuchin said the move was at the direction of President Donald Trump, and he has spoken with congressional leaders. — Li
2:00 pm: NYSE advancers lead decliners 5-1
More than five stocks traded higher at the New York Stock Exchange for every stock that traded lower as the market added to its sharp rally from the previous session. Overall, nearly 2,500 stocks traded higher at the NYSE while 435 were down, FactSet data shows. — Imbert
1:50 pm: Dow headed for highest closing level in over three weeks, up 500 points
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up more than 500 points, or 2.3%, in early afternoon trading as investors were hopeful the number of new coronavirus cases was starting to recede. The 30-stock index was on pace to post its highest closing level since March 13, when it ended at 23,185.62. Tuesday's gains were driven by a 12.6% surge in Dow Inc while American Express and Caterpillar advanced 8.5% and 5.9%, respectively. — Imbert
1:06 pm: Goldman's Currie says demand recovery in oil will be 'V shaped'
Oil demand has fallen off a cliff as much of the world stays home amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced companies to slow production as they grapple with lower crude prices. This, in turn, will create an imbalance once things return to normal given the time required to bring production back online. "The return in supply will be L shaped, the return in demand will be V shaped," Jeffrey Currie, Goldman Sachs' global head of commodities research, said Tuesday on CNBC's "Halftime Report." "When the system starts to normalize, and I don't want to speculate when that can be, you're going to end up with a sharp rebound in demand and supply is likely to lag." U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude traded about 1% lower at $25.80 per barrel on Tuesday. — Stevens
12:55 pm: Here are some of the biggest movers in Tuesday's session:
- Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean — Cruise stocks surged after the Saudi sovereign wealth fund disclosed an 8.2% stake in Carnival. Shares of Carnival rallied more than 18%. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean gained 17.8% and 24.3%, respectively.
- Darden Restaurants — Shares of the restaurant chain owner rallied nearly 15% after the company said Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse are seeing significant spikes in to-go sales as people avoid public spaces and stay at home.
- American Airlines — Shares jumped more than 18% on improving health data from Europe and New York City, signalling that travel restrictions might be lifted sooner than expected.
Click here to read more midday movers on Tuesday. — Stevens
12:23 pm: Bank and credit card CEOs convening at White House for announcement on small business relief
The CEOs of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Visa and Mastercard will be attending a virtual meeting with the White House Tuesday to discuss a new small business initiative.Gordon Smith, co-president of JPMorgan Chase, will be attending in lieu of CEO Jamie Dimon. The heads of smaller institutions including Grand Rapids State Bank, Southern Bancorp, Community Spirit Bank will also be in attendance.Details for the 3 p.m. meeting were difficult to obtain, but the discussion may include how these financial firms will assist small business when the economy eventually reopens. — Son
11:40 am: Downside risks still remain despite market bounce, BNY Mellon strategists say
Strategists at BNY Mellon Investment Management said that investors should not feel confident in market rallies until there is a clearer picture of the health situation. "The market has been illogical on both sides … we're going to continue to see swings like this," said Liz Young, BNY's director of market strategy. Alicia Levine, BNY's chief strategist, said the duration of the economic downturn makes a major difference because of the compounding effects, such as potential defaults for companies. For example, a two-month slowdown versus a four-month one would have significant differences for the economy, Levine said. "If the outcome is four months, is not that the impact is double … it's exponential," Levine said. — Pound
11:34 am: New York virus death count jumps by 731, Cuomo says
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the state jumped by 731 on Monday, its single-biggest daily increase. "Behind everyone of those numbers is an individual, is a family, is a mother, is a father, is a brother, is a sister. So, a lot of pain again today," he said at a press conference in Albany. New York is the U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, with more than half of the cases coming from there. At the same time, intensive care admissions started to decline in the state and hospitalization rates are slowing again, Cuomo said. — Imbert
11:20 am: Wall Street analysts upgrade more stocks as the rebound rolls on
- UBS upgraded Constellation Brands to buy from neutral.
- Wells Fargo upgraded Marriott to overweight from equal weight.
- Wells Fargo initiated Take-Two Interactive as overweight.
- Wells Fargo initiated Activision Blizzard as overweight.
- Raymond James downgraded Shopify to market perform from outperform.
- Bank of America upgraded Wayfair to buy from neutral.
- Rosenblatt downgraded Twilio to neutral from buy.
- Deutsche Bank downgraded General Motors to hold from buy.
- Loop upgraded Lowe's to buy from hold.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Bloom
11:00 am: JOLTS report shows tight job market heading into crisis
February ended with there being about a million more jobs than available workers, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. March, however, will be a different story. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, watched closely by Federal Reserve officials for insights into the jobs market, showed nearly 6.9 million vacancies against 5.8 million counted as unemployed. That was 130,000 fewer openings from January, while the jobless total fell by 105,000. Of course, the entire labor dynamic changed in March with the onset of protective measures to prevent the coronavirus spread. The Labor Department on Friday reported that the total jobless level rose by 1.35 million for March, likely ending a trend going back to January 2018 of more job openings than available workers. — Cox
10:51 am: Darden Restaurants stock jumps amid cost-cutting blitz, exec pay cuts and furloughs
Darden Restaurants rallied more than 11% on Tuesday after it said it is slashing executive pay and furloughing some restaurant support staff. Though the stock is down more than 45% in 2020 and Darden's same-store were down 71% in the week ended Sunday, investors appeared to cheer on Tuesday at its efforts to reduce costs. CEO Gene Lee, who is foregoing his salary, said that senior executive will see their pay cut by 50%. — Franck
10:46 am: Equity funds had worst quarterly performance since late 2008
The spread of the coronavirus and the tumble in oil prices led to a dismal performance by equity funds. On average, those funds posted a decline of 22.3%, according to data compiled by Lipper. That's the worst average performance since the fourth quarter of 2008. However, the broader stock market showed some signs of bottoming in late March, surging from a low reached March 23. —Imbert
10:22 am: Stocks pare gains, Dow up only 450 points; S&P 500 up 1.5%
Stocks cut gains about 40 minutes into the session with the Dow paring an initial 800-point rally to a climb of about 460 points. The S&P 500 rose 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.2%. Reasons for the equity deceleration weren't obvious, but the Dow's two-day gain was still well over 2,000 points. — Franck
9:52 am: Dow now up 28% from coronavirus low
With a sharp two-day rebound, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now up 28% from its 52-week low of 18,213.65 hit on March 23. The 30-stock average jumped 2,400 points in just two trading sessions. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rallied about 10% this week so far, bouncing 24.7% from its 52-week low of 2,191.86 reached on March 23. For the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, the benchmark jumped 9.6% week to date, now 21.7% up from its 52-week low of 6,631.42 also hit on March 23. — Li
9:42 am: JPMorgan market guru, who called the rebound, sees 'limited reopening' of the economy soon
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. are peaking sooner than people expected, according to a top JPMorgan strategist who was bullish two weeks ago before most on Wall Street. That could lead the economy to open sooner than others think, J.P. Morgan's Marko Kolanovic wrote. "We believe we've seen a peak in new case growth in the US 3-4 days ago, and then deaths will peak in about a week, so we look for a limited reopening of the economy in 1-2 weeks," Kolanovic said in a note to clients recapping a conference call on markets from the firm's top research analysts.
The quantitative strategist is looking at smart thermometer data to get ahead of other forecasters, which he said is preceding the official data coming out of hospitals by one to two weeks. Kolanovic projects about 70,000 coronavirus related deaths in the U.S., below the forecast 100,000. Regarding the recovery in stocks, Kolanovic is overweight equities and underweight government bonds. "We think we will be able to recover the losses in equities sometime next year," restated Kolanovic, who sees the coronavirus recession as uniquely deep and uniquely short-lived. — Fitzgerald
9:30 am: Dow jumps more than 800 points at open, S&P 500 rises 3.2%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 800 points, or 3.6%, at the opening of trade in New York on Tuesday. The blue-chip index was led higher in early trading by UnitedHealth and Home Depot. The S&P 500 rose 3.3% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 2.8% as the energy and utilities sectors led the broad stock market higher in the first 10 minutes of trade. — Franck
9:26 am: Exxon cuts capital spending by 30%, but CEO says it's committed to dividend
Exxon Mobil is slashing its 2020 capital spending plan as depressed oil prices hammer the energy sector, but CEO Darren Woods said that the company's dividend is safe for the time being. "A lot of our shareholders are retail shareholders — people who depend on that dividend — so we've been pretty committed to maintaining that and if necessary in the short-term using the balance sheet to support it," Woods said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." On Tuesday the company said that it was reducing capital spending for 2020 from $33 billion to around $23 billion, and cutting operating expenses by about 15%. The largest portion of the reduction will be in the Permian Basin, where it's easier to adjust short-cycle investments, Woods said. Shares of Exxon gained more than 5% in Tuesday's premarket. — Stevens
9:22 am: SEC Chair Clayton pushes 'good corporate hygiene' for earnings season
Companies that will start reporting earnings soon should do their best to explain to investors how they're being impacted by the coronavirus and what their future plans are, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton told CNBC. Given the virus disruption, this reporting season likely will be noisy, but Clayton encouraged companies to do their best. "We're in a very different environment," he said in a "Squawk Box" interview Tuesday. "With respect to things like financing, possible changes in operations, material changes in the way you do your business, practice good corporate hygiene." — Cox
9:19 am: Carnival up another 20% after Saudi fund announces stake
Shares of cruise-line company Carnival rocketed another 20% before the opening of trade Tuesday after Saudi Arabia's sovereign-wealth fund announced an 8.2% stake (or 43.5 million shares) on Monday. Though shares soared 20% during Monday's session after the Saudi disclosure, the stock was set for a similar gain on Tuesday based on premarket trading. Based on Carnival's closing price on Monday of $10.21, the Saudi stake is valued at $444.2 million. Shares of Carnival and other cruise companies have plunged in recent weeks as the spread of the coronavirus keeps ships at port, representing what some investors consider a compelling buying opportunity. — Franck
9:07 am: NYSE president removes doubt: Floor trading will resume when safe
NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said the trading floor will eventually reopen when it's safe to do so. "As soon as we can go back to a full-service offering, we will," Cunningham said on "Squawk Box." Fully electronic trading has gone well since implemented on March 23, she said, but reopening the floor is critical to NYSE operations. "That added element of human trading leads to less volatility and one of the reasons why we were so dedicated to keeping the floor open as long as possible is because we were already in such an extreme, volatile period," she said. — Stankiewicz
8:56 am: More stimulus ahead?
The prospect of even more fiscal stimulus may be adding to the positive sentiment on Wall Street. President Donald Trump said Monday that a second round of direct payments to Americans was under consideration as the government tries to cushion the coronavirus' economic blow. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also said an additional stimulus package could be worth at least $1 trillion. — Imbert
8:42 am: Airlines gain steam in pre-market trading
Major airline stocks rose sharply before the bell on Tuesday. American Airlines soared 13.3%, while Delta jumped 14% and United Airlines surged 15.3%. All three stocks are at least 50% below where they traded in mid-February. In recent days, U.S. airlines have cut their domestic flights, including in and out of New York City, and major airplane producers Airbus and Boeing have halted work at more plants. — Pound
8:30 am: UK Prime Minister Johnson 'stable,' but still in intensive care
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in intensive care as of Tuesday morning. A spokesperson for the world leader said he was "stable" and in "good spirits" but remained in intensive care after his coronavirus symptoms worsened Monday afternoon. The spokesperson added that Johnson had received oxygen treatment but that the prime minister was breathing on his own without the help of medical devices. Johnson first announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 27. — Franck
7:40 am: Dow futures up 755 points, stocks to add to sharp Monday rebound
Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes pointed to gains of about 3% at the start of trading on Tuesday, set to add to Monday's sharp rebound. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to an opening rally of about 700 points, more than 3%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures pointed to opening gains of 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively.
Tuesday's anticipated rally comes after a host of positive coronavirus headlines. South Korea reported Tuesday less than 50 new cases of infection for the second day running while China reported no new deaths as of April 6 for the first time since January when it started publishing daily updates. U.S. figures also continued to suggest stabilization in the daily increase in new COVID-19 cases, a development some are taking as an early sign of the disease's peak in the United States.
Those strong gains will add to Monday's sharp rally on the holiday-shortened week. The Dow soared 1,600 points in the prior session, posting its third-biggest point gain ever. The S&P 500 jumped 7% to its highest level since March 13 and bounced about 20% from its 52-week low on March 23. — Franck
— CNBC's Jesse Pound, Kevin Stankiewicz, Pippa Stevens, Jeff Cox, Hugh Son and Fred Imbert contributed reporting.
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Source: cnbc.com
