US Indexes Fall Further Thursday, Stock Trading Halted Again
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,200.62 on Thursday with a loss of 2352.60 points or -9.99%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,480.64 for a loss of 260.74 points or -9.51%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,201.80 for a loss of 750.25 points or -9.43%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 75.47 for a gain of 21.57 points or 40.02%.
Thursday's market movers
U.S. indexes closed further in bear market territory after ending an 11-year bull market run on Wednesday. Stock trading was halted again for the second time in recent days due to market declines. The Dow Jones posted its worst trading day since 1987.
The Trump Administration announced that it would restrict all travel from Europe (excluding the U.K.) into the U.S. for the next 30 days. The National Basketball Association announced it would be suspending the season and the NCAA also canceled its March Madness tournament. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League are also suspended. JPMorgan has requested all of its New York employees to work from home and Twitter is now requiring its entire workforce to work remotely. Many other companies are also requiring alternative work arrangements.
In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced some new stimulus measures at the close of its March policy meeting. The ECB will keep its key interest rate unchanged but has plans for bond purchases and lower rate loans. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve announced it would inject $1.5 trillion, primarily in the short term lending and money markets, to help with market stability.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
Jobless claims decreased to 211,000 from 215,000 in the previous week. Continuing jobless claims decreased to 1,722,000 from 1,733,000.
The Producer Price Index decreased -0.6% in February and reported an increase of 1.3% year over year.
The Core Producer Price Index excluding food and energy decreased -0.3% in February and reported an increase of 1.4% year over year.
The Treasury held auctions for 4-week bills at a rate of 0.395%, 8-week bills at a rate of 0.290% and 30-year bonds at a rate of 1.320%.
Freddie Mac released its weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.36%, increasing from 3.29%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77%, increasing from 2.79%.
In the S&P 500, energy and financials led losses. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
Boeing (NYSE:BA) -20.41%
Disney (NYSE:DIS) -15.67%
Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) -15.43%
IBM (NYSE:IBM) -12.85%
American Express (NYSE:AXP) -12.42%
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) -12.40%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,122.93 for a loss of 141.37 points or -11.18%. The S&P 600 closed at 671.30 for a loss of 86.23 points or -11.38%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 7,402.21 for a loss of 891.17 points or -10.75%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 6,172.06 for a loss of 827.64 points or -11.82%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,426.74 for a loss of 157.93 points or -9.97%; the S&P 100 at 1,123.43 for a loss of 115.41 points or -9.32%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,263.65 for a loss of 742.47 points or -9.27%; the Russell 3000 at 1,435.94 for a loss of 153.55 points or -9.66%; the Russell 1000 at 1,364.66 for a loss of 144.34 points or -9.57%; the Wilshire 5000 at 25,092.94 for a loss of 2,690.05 points or -9.68%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 525.23 for a loss of 62.02 points or -10.56%.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
