The raging coronavirus will close the New York Stock Exchange's floor operations on Monday, after employees tested positive for the coronavirus. (Photo by Luiz Roberto Lima-ANB/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Stocks around the world rallied Tuesday amid expectations that Congress is nearing a deal to pump nearly $2 trillion of aid into the coronavirus-ravaged economy.
Top congressional and White House officials said they expect to reach an agreement Tuesday, though some issues remain. Investors have been frustrated waiting for the U.S. government to do what it can to help the economy, which is increasingly shutting down by the day after the Federal Reserve has done nearly all it can.
Signs of optimism radiated around the world. Beyond the better than 5 percent gain for the S&P 500 within the first few minutes of trading, South Korean stocks surged 8.6 percent and Germany's market returned 7 percent. Treasury yields rose in a sign that investors are feeling less fearful. Even crude oil, which has more than halved this year, rose.
The market has seen rebounds like this before, only for them to wash out immediately. Since the market began selling off on Feb. 20, the S&P 500 has had six days where it's risen, and all but one of them were big gains of more than 4 percent. After every one of them, stocks fell again the next day.
Ultimately, investors say they need to see the number of new infections peak before markets can find a bottom. The increasing spread is forcing companies to park airplanes, shut hotels, and close restaurants to dine-in customers. Altogether, estimates suggest at least 10 percent of the U.S. economy is shutting down, according to Rob Sharpe, head of investments and group chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price.
The S&P 500 was up 5.4 percent, as of 9:43 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,130 points, or 6.1 percent, to 19,722 and the Nasdaq was up 4.9 percent.
Economists are topping each other's dire forecasts for how much the economy will shrink this spring due to the closures of businesses, and a growing number say a recession seems inevitable.
To support the economy while health experts work to corral the virus, the Federal Reserve on Monday pledged to buy as many Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities as it takes to keep lending markets working smoothly. It's the latest in a string of extraordinary moves by the U.S. central bank.
Investors are waiting for Congress and the White House to also do what they can. They debated through the weekend and Monday on a plan to send cash to households and help support the hard-hit travel industry, among other things.
Governments and central banks in other countries around the world are also unveiling unprecedented levels of support for their economies in an attempt to limit the scale of the upcoming virus-related slump. Germany, a bastion of budgetary discipline, also approved a big fiscal boost.
Markets rose even as more dismal data came in about the global economy.
"Everyone was prepared for a set of shockers, and that is precisely what we got, but they are not a surprise," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "It is at times like this that the market's propensity to look forward is demonstrated most effectively."
A further boost to sentiment has come from the news that China is preparing to lift the lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and from Italy reporting a reduction in the number of new cases and coronavirus-related deaths.
"It's still early days, of course — perhaps investors can start to envisage life beyond the coronavirus," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA Europe. "That could make stocks look a little more attractive, although anyone jumping back in now will need to have nerves of steel."
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. Those with mild illness recover in about two weeks. Severe illness including pneumonia can occur, especially in the elderly and people with existing health problems. Recovery could take six weeks in such cases.
Sam Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell where he dives into the factors contributing to Monday's market plunge and what could be in store when February's CPI data comes out on Tuesday.
Country music fans watching the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight will be doing so in a different way than years past. The ceremony will not be broadcast on network TV and will air exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. This will be the first time a major awards show will be live-streamed exclusively on a subscription video-on-demand platform. Shelly Kramer, co-founder and lead analyst of Futurum Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Russia-Ukraine crisis is doing more than just sending the price of oil skyrocketing — it's also impacting the electric vehicle sector thanks to rising prices of key metals and materials necessary for battery and EV production. How can the relatively new industry steel itself as prices rise and consumers potentially lose what little interest they had in making the switch to an electric car? John Loehr, managing director of AlixPartners Automotive and Industrial Practice, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
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Apple is set to unveil a new fleet of tech and services at its Peek Performance event on Tuesday. Luke Miani, a content creator, joined Cheddar News to discuss what might be expected to get unveiled, from mid-range Mac desktops to 5G service for the iPhone SE. "As 5G becomes more available and these products continue to be used, these are the types of features that consumers really need to see going forward," he said.
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Verizon recently unveiled its new streaming hub management service called +Play to help its users bundle their myriad streaming platforms in one place. Manon Brouillette, CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, joined Cheddar News to explain the new portal. "There is a proliferation of subscription models with any type of industry, and when we asked our customers, we realized that there was a pain point there. They were losing track of how many subscription services they were paying every month," she said.
Retailer Kohl's revealed a changeup to its business model on its investor day with plans to open 100 small format shops over the next four years and a push to bring its Sephora brand annual sales up to $2 billion — all this while facing activist investor pressure to sell the business outright. Jill Timm, Kohl's CFO, joined Cheddar to discuss the latest direction the department store chain intends to take after its latest earnings report and while navigating the calls for new ownership. "We found that we can open a hundred stores to ensure that we're reaching more customers in smaller markets," Timm said after testing the expansion plan. "We actually expect this to be a $500 million sales opportunity, and we're targeting to return over 15 percent from this investment." She also noted the company's optimism about Sephora's future growth in the next three-and-a-half years.
