· Dow sinks, virus pushes it to sharpest quarterly plunge in over three decades
Wall Street’s three major indexes tumbled on Tuesday, with the Dow registering its biggest quarterly decline since 1987 and the S&P 500 suffering its deepest quarterly drop since the financial crisis on growing evidence of massive economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 410.32 points, or 1.84%, to 21,917.16, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 42.06 points, or 1.60%, to 2,584.59 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 74.05 points, or 0.95%, to 7,700.10.
In one of the fastest turns into a bear market, the S&P 500 and the Dow both ended the first quarter more than 20% below the end of 2019, as the health crisis worsened in the United States and brought business activity to a standstill.
It was also the S&P’s biggest first-quarter decline on record as consumers were advised to stay at home, leading businesses to announce temporary closures and massive staff furloughs.
As a result, economists have slashed 2020 growth expectations and investors, eying dismal quarterly financial reports, fear corporate defaults and mass layoffs would lead to a deep recession.
· Dow futures fall more than 200 points after market posts worst first quarter on record
U.S. stock futures moved lower in overnight trading and pointed to declines at the open on Wednesday, following the end of the worst first quarter on record for the Dow and S&P 500 spurred by the coronavirus sell-off.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell more than 1.2%, indicating a loss of about 220 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also set to open lower, with losses of 25 points and 55 points, respectively.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening the U.S. should prepare for a “very, very painful two weeks” from the rampant coronavirus. White House officials are projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 virus deaths in the U.S.
· European shares close higher on China data, but log worst first quarter ever
European shares closed higher Tuesday, after some positive Chinese manufacturing data, but completed their worst quarter since 2002 due to the coronavirus crisis and fears of an immediate recession in the region.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 1.5%, paring earlier gains, with travel and leisure stocks adding 4.9% while banks fell 0.1%.
For the trading quarter, the index posted its worst three months since 2002, down 23.1%, which is its worst first quarter ever. Spain’s IBEX fell 30% during the period, Italy’s FTSE MIB lost 28%, and German and British blue-chips both lost around 25%.
· Asia stocks mixed as investors await private survey of China’s manufacturing activity
Stocks in Asia traded mixed on Wednesday morning as investors await the release of a private survey of Chinese manufacturing activity in March, expected to be out around 9:45 a.m HK/SIN.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.33% in morning trade while the Topix index shed 1.1%. The big manufacturer’s index in the Bank of Japan’s Tankan March 2020 for the first quarter came in at -8. That was its lowest level since March 2013, according to Reuters. Still, that was above expectations of a reading of -10 in a Reuters poll.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi recovered from its earlier slip to edge 0.3% higher while the Kosdaq index jumped 1.66%. Meanwhile, shares in Australia rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 3.08%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.51% higher.
Investors await the release of the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index for March, a private survey of China’s manufacturing activity. It’s set to be out at about 9:45 a.m. HK/SIN, which could provide further clues to the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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