Wednesday's Market Recap - Investors Switching Focus To The Rising Covid-19 Infections.
What is The Premarket Telling Us?
7:00 AM.
Futures are modestly lower at this hour, indicating markets could be mildly lower at the open. Dow futures down 49 points, Nasdaq futures down 33 points, and S&P futures down 5 points. Asian markets ended mixed.
On The Bond Desk:
The US 10 Year Bond Yield at 0.86%, down0.01%.
Currency Desk:
Eurodollar: 1.18
UK Pound: 1.32
Crude Oil:
WTI crude oil futures at $41.37/barrel, down 1.08%.
On the Earnings Calendar:
Once again Target has reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings results.
Lowe's also reported earnings before the bell this morning. The company narrowly misses earnings expectations.
In M&A News:
None to report.
What About The Asian And European Markets?
Major Asian markets mixed. Japan (Nikkei 225) fell 1.10%, Shanghai up 0.22%, Hong Kong (Hang Seng) up 0.40%
Major European markets modestly higher. German (DAX) up 0.52%, France CAC 40 up 0.52%, London FTSE 100 up 0.31%
Market And Sector Dynamics
Stocks opened the session lower, with the Dow up 95 points, Nasdaq fell 4 points, and the S&P up 2 points. There is some renewed vaccine optimism as Pfizer updated its Covid vaccine trial results, showing it now at 95% efficacy. Also adding positive sentiment to markets this morning is news from the FAA has cleared the
flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX. So Boeing is free to resume flying that aircraft that was grounded nearly 18 months ago.
Markets traded modestly in positive territory for most of the morning session, but gradually lost steam during the afternoon session, and accelerated after New York City announced the closing of its public schools, to go one hundred percent virtual learning, because of an uptick in the rate Covid19 infections. The City had a preset 3% infection rate threshold or target, which if breached, it would close schools. Stocks closed at the low of the session.
In today's selloff, all eleven S&P sectors closed the session with losses, led by Energy, Utilities, Healthcare, Real Estate, Consumer Staples, Technology, Communication Services, Basic Materials, Consumer Discretionary, and Industrials.
Factors Influencing Today's Market
Markets sold off for a second straight day due to widening Covid-19 infections and more restrictions across the country. 250,000 Americans have died, and over 11,000,000 infections in the US.
New York City closed its public schools today, to go one hundred percent virtual learning.
Strong quarterly earnings from Target, and a narrow earnings miss from Lowe's.
Asian markets were mixed, while European stocks closed with modest gains.
US 10 Year Bond closed at 0.870%, up 0.95%.
WTI crude oil closed the day at $41.82/barrel, up 0.94%.
Market Close Volume Traded And Advance Decline Ratio
At the end of trading, markets were solidly lower. The Dow 344.93 points, Nasdaq fell 97.74 points, and the S&P lost 41.74 points. Total NYSE volume traded, a heavy 5.29 billion shares. Declining shares outpaced Advancing shares by 1.60:1.
Data Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN Money, Google Finance, Market Watch, TD Ameritrade, Yahoo Finance. Wall Street Journal - Market Diary.
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