Tulips bloom on the East Plaza of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
By Stan Choe
Stocks are peeking higher in early morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday, as indexes look to lock in their first back-to-back gain since the market's brutal sell-off began last month on worries about the coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P 500 was up slightly in the first few minutes of trading, a day after packing a year’s worth of gains into Tuesday on expectations that Washington was close to a $2 trillion deal to aid the economy. The Dow was up about 1%, largely because of a huge gain in one stock, Boeing. A day earlier, it surged 11.4%, its biggest gain since 1933.
Congress and the White House did indeed announce an agreement early Wednesday, with the Senate possibly voting on it in the afternoon. Investors were anxiously waiting for this kind of aid, which will help blunt the blow to the economy as businesses shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Even optimists say the package provides just the second leg of three that markets need to regain lasting confidence. The Federal Reserve and central banks are also offering tremendous support by cutting interest rates and supporting lending markets, but investors say they need to see the number of new infections peak before they can feel comfortable knowing how deep the looming economic downturn will be.
The number of known infections has leaped past 435,000 people worldwide, and more than 19,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. Overall, more than 111,000 have recovered.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
With widening swaths of the economy shutting down and layoffs mounting, economists are sure a steep drop-off is coming. What’s unsure is how long it will last.
That uncertainty has led to wild swings in the stock market over the last month. The S&P 500’s 9.8% surge Tuesday was bigger than the index’s gains in nine of the last 20 years.
But the market has also had a couple days within the last few days that packed entire years’ worth of losses, including two days down 10.4%.
The uncertainty has carried over even to trading within a certain day or a certain hour.
The S&P 500 was up less than 1%, as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211, or 1%.
Earlier on Wednesday, futures for the S&P 500 and other indexes were down, indicating losses could be on the way when trading opened.
European markets initially jumped to strong gains, but they faded as the day progressed. Germany’s DAX was down 0.8%, and the French CAC 40 was up the same amount.
Even earlier on Wednesday, Asian markets surged to big gains following the big U.S. day. Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 8%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 5.9% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 3.8%.
Treasury yields were holding relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury inched up to 0.82% from 0.81% late Tuesday, and the two-year yield slipped to 0.35% from 0.37%.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
