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%.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
