Wall Street continued its four days of losing streak as the deadly coronavirus spread 36 countries across the world. On Tuesday, U.S. stocks plunged as investors remained skeptical about global economic growth. All three major stock indexes ended in the red.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 3.2% or 879.44 points to close at 27,081.3. The S&P 500 tumbled 3% or 97.68 points to close at 3,128.21. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 8,965.61, shedding 2.8% or 255.67 points. A total of 10 billion shares were traded Tuesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 8 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE 5.10-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 4.93-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow closed in negative territory with all 30 components of the index closing in the red. The major loser of the Dow was American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP) . The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company tanked 5.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The S&P 500 ended in the red with each of its 11 sectors posted losses. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE (NYSE:XLE)) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) tanked 4.4% and 4.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite finished in the red driven by stiff fall in semiconductor’s stock prices.
Wall Street Plunges
In the first two days of trading of this week, the Dow has shed 6.59%, marking its worst 2-day drop for the index since February 2018. The S&P 500 tumbled 6.28% — highlighting the worst decline for two consecutive days since August 2015. Likewise, the Nasdaq Composite declined 6.38% — the worst decline for two successive days since June 2016.
Year to date, all three indexes have entered the negative category with a loss of 5.1%, 3.2% and 0.1%, respectively. In the past two days of trading, the S&P 500 has lost market value worth $1.737 trillion. In each of the first two trading days of this week, all 30 stocks of the Dow lost value while all 11 sectors of the S&P 500 lost value.
Meanwhile, the Dow is 8.4% away from its all-time high recorded in Feb. 12. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are 7.6% and 8.6% away, respectively, from their all-time highs recorded on Feb 19. A decline of 10% or more from their latest highs will place these indexes in the correction mode.
Volatility Index Spikes
Severe volatility has gripped U.S. stock markets in the last four trading sessions. On Fed 25, The CBOE VIX — which reflects S&P 500 option bets to calculate expectations for volatility over the coming 30 days — jumped 11.3% to close at 27.85. This was the volatility index’s highest close in 14 months.
During the intraday trading, the VIX recorded a new 52-week high at 30.25. The volatility index climbed 63% in the first two trading days of this week. Notably, the VIX is popularly recognized as Wall Street’s best fear gauge.
Economic Data
The Conference Board reported that the U.S. Consumer Confidence index to slightly to 130.7 in February from a downwardly revised metric of 130.4 in January. However, the metric fell short of the consensus estimate of 132.5. Despite this, February’s reading was he highest in six months. The expectation index (indicates consumer’s expectations for the next six months) climbed 107.8 from 101.4 in January. However,the present situation index (indicates current business and labor environment) dropped to 165.1 from 173.9 in January.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 3.8% in December. The 10-city composite increased 2.4% annually compared with 2% in November. The 20-city composite rose 2.9% compared with 2.5% in November.
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American Express Company (AXP): Free Stock Analysis Report
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