Stock Market News For Mar 6, 2020

Benchmarks fell sharply on Thursday as investors remained concerned regarding coronavirus widespread in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 969.58 points, or 3.6% to close at 26,121.28 and the S&P 500 shed 106.18 points, or 3.4% to close at 3,023.94. While, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 8,738.59, retreating 279.49 points, or 3.1%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 23.85% to close at 39.62. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for a 5.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 3.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored decliners.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

All the major sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the negative territory on Thursday. The Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut of 50-basis point to 1-1.25%, weighed heavily on interest-rate sensitive financials sector. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) dropped 4.9% and 5.1%, respectively on Thursday.

Additionally, supply chain disruption due to virus outburst also impacted the technology sector. Decline in both the sectors weighed heavily on the benchmarks. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares dropped 4.8% and 2.5%, respectively, after both the tech giants asked their staffs to work from home.

Microsoft sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

California Declared a State of Emergency

Thursday’s market volatility was a clear indication of growing fear among investors as the outbreak of the coronavirus continue to disrupt the global economy. Death toll in the United States rose to 11 and California reporting 53 confirmed cases has forced it to declare a state of emergency.

Additionally, cases of coronavirus infections doubled in New York to 22 on Thursday as the state ramped up its testing. The virus has so far infected more than 98,000 people and caused more than 3,000 fatalities, worldwide.

As health scare rises and more areas fall under quarantine, travel restrictions have crippled demand for travel and tourism stocks, especially airlines and cruise liners. Evidently, shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) dropped nearly 13%. In fact, the International Air Transport Association has reported that the coronavirus outbreak will hit global airline revenue, a potential impact of $113 billion.

Cruise stocks have been one of the most impacted from the virus widespread. And, as health officials screened people on a ship linked to the death in California, shares of cruise liners declined. Shares of Carnival Corporation & Plc (NYSE:CCL) , Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) dropped 14.2%, 13.4% and 16.3%, respectively.

Initial Claims Drop in the Week Ending Feb 29

Headwinds from the coronavirus widespread kept bothering investors, however, weekly jobless claims data indicated the underlying strength of the labor market. On Thursday, the government reported that 216,000 people claimed unemployment benefits in the week ending Feb 29, compared to the 219,000 in the previous week. With forecasts of jobless claims dropping further in the upcoming week, investors keep a close watch on the February’s nonfarm payrolls report, scheduled to be released on Friday.

Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation

Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.

A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.

See 8 breakthrough stocks now>>