Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.39%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Financials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.39% to hit a new 6-months low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.82%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.01%.
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side for social media buttons.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), which rose 3.25% or 1.62 points to trade at 51.44 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 2.42% or 3.83 points to end at 162.01 and Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) was up 2.17% or 0.86 points to 40.41 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which fell 4.40% or 12.65 points to trade at 275.11 at the close. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) declined 4.33% or 5.26 points to end at 116.11 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was down 3.44% or 4.27 points to 119.81.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) which rose 8.02% to 36.25, Cimarex Energy Co (NYSE:XEC) which was up 7.83% to settle at 33.05 and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) which gained 7.25% to close at 37.26.
The worst performers were The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) which was down 8.66% to 16.73 in late trade, Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) which lost 7.98% to settle at 17.19 and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which was down 7.52% to 19.05 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) which rose 168.87% to 0.7800, Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RTTR) which was up 143.21% to settle at 0.6900 and Altimmune Inc (NASDAQ:ALT) which gained 110.23% to close at 3.700.
The worst performers were Tellurian Inc (NASDAQ:TELL) which was down 51.02% to 1.80 in late trade, Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ:TNXP) which lost 37.57% to settle at 1.080 and Novan Inc (NASDAQ:NOVN) which was down 36.15% to 0.2199 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2197 to 709 and 35 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1729 fell and 968 advanced, while 55 ended unchanged.
Shares in American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) fell to all time lows; falling 7.52% or 1.55 to 19.05. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.40% or 12.65 to 275.11. Shares in The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) fell to 52-week lows; losing 3.44% or 4.27 to 119.81. Shares in Tellurian Inc (NASDAQ:TELL) fell to 3-years lows; falling 51.02% or 1.88 to 1.80. Shares in Novan Inc (NASDAQ:NOVN) fell to all time lows; down 36.15% or 0.1245 to 0.2199.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.43% to 40.11 a new 3-years high.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 3.37% or 55.35 to $1587.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April fell 3.91% or 1.84 to hit $45.25 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract fell 3.19% or 1.65 to trade at $50.08 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.26% to 1.1027, while USD/JPY fell 1.36% to 108.08.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.41% at 98.060.
See also:
Stocks – Wall Street Falls Again in Worst Weekly Loss Since ’08
Stocks – Panic Selling Continues as Dow Tumbles Below 25,000
The dollar was higher against high-yielding currencies but lower against havens in early trade in Europe on Friday, as the week-long flight to safety in global markets continued unabated.
Overnight, the greenback had marched to another new 10-year high against the Aussie dollar and also breached 1.60 against the kiwi for the first time since October.
However, its gains against European currencies were more limited, with the euro staying around $1.1000 and Sterling dropping only 0.2% to $1.2864. And it lost ground against traditional safe havens such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
The pound was supported by stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data for February and the fastest annual gain in house prices since August 2018, as measured by the Nationwide Building Society.
The data are consistent with other recent high-frequency indicators suggesting an uptick in the economy since December’s general election. However, the fast-deteriorating global backdrop and the new government’s defiant stance vis-à-vis the EU as it starts negotiations on a free trade deal may yet keep hopes of a near-term rate cut by the Bank of England alive.
The Bank of England’s chief economist Andrew Haldane may give further clues on the likelihood of that in a speech at 6:15 AM ET (1115 GMT).
Markets are now aggressively pricing in monetary easing from the Federal Reserve over the next few months. The Fed-sensitive 2-Year yield fell through 1% in early trading in Europe, while the 10-year yield has collapsed from 1.47% at the start of the week to a record low of 1.19% by 3 AM ET (0800 GMT).
John Lonski, chief economist with Moody’s Capital Markets Research, in a note to clients,said:
“Markets are trying to “price-in” an event for which there is no readily known precedent. Volatility will rule until COVID-19-related risks reverse course. [However] by themselves, Fed rate cuts will not remedy the COVID-19 virus. What the Fed can do is help to facilitate access to financial capital for those households, businesses and local governments that incur cash flow problems owing to the virus. The Fed will attempt to prevent a highly communicable virus from sparking a ruinous bout of financial contagion.”
Fed rate cuts would also be a significant help to emerging market countries whose currencies have depreciated fast against the dollar since the outbreak began. The worst hit continue to be those with the biggest trade links to China: the dollar rose 2% against the Indonesian rupiah in Asian trading to an eight-month high, while it also rose more than 1.6% against the Russian ruble to its highest since January 2019.
See also:
With world markets crashing and burning over the coronavirus crisis, the one asset that’s supposed to be protecting investors is letting them down.
Gold tumbled more than 3% on Friday, joining the carnage in oil and on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 headed for its worst weekly slump since the financial crisis of 2008.
Gold futures for April delivery on New York’s COMEX were down $57.50, or 3.5%, at $1,585 per ounce, falling off the key $1,600 berth. The last time a benchmark gold futures lost more in a day was in February 2018, when it slumped 4.6%. For the current week, the contract lost 3.7%. But for the month it managed to stay flat and in the positive.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was at $1,585.55, down about 3.5% or more on both the day and week and about 0.3% lower on the month.
Gold was a safe haven that many investors piled into over the past month as tremors over the coronavirus crisis slowly built. Earlier this week, the yellow metal hit seven-year highs just short of $1,700, raising hopes that it might have a shot later in the year at cracking the $1,900 record high.
Yet over the past four sessions, both gold futures and bullion descended into the red, before finally tumbling on Friday. Two reasons were cited by analysts: higher margin calls imposed on gold traders and selling by hedge funds to cover losses elsewhere.
Ed Moya at New York-based online trading platform OANDA said:
“Why are we not at $1,700 on gold? That’s because hedge funds do not want a disastrous February performance and need to sell winning gold positions to counter their losing stock holdings.”
Others exited because of higher margin calls imposed on gold trades, which meant “they need cash to stay or they need to leave,” said George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management.
Still, there were buillish hopes that after Friday’s shakeout, gold would attempt a return to $1,600. Moya said:
“Gold should start showing signs of life regardless of what stocks do over the next couple weeks. If panic selling with stocks continues next week, gold will likely reassert its safe-haven status or if markets show signs of stabilizing, we could see the broad based commodity plunge ease.”
See also:
Oil fell an epic 15% or more on the week, the biggest weekly drop since 2008 that pushed crude prices to under $50 a barrel, as fears over the coronavirus crisis ravaged markets from stocks to even safe-havens like gold, leaving investors few places to hide.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, settled down $2.33, or 5%, at $44.76 per barrel, the lowest since December 2018. On a weekly basis, WTI lost 16%, its most in a week since mid-December 2008 – stirring memories of the Great Recession.
Brent, the London-traded global benchmark for crude, settled down 2.51, or 4.8%, at $49.67 per barrel, breaking the key $50 support. Brent’s session low of $48.95 was a bottom going back to July 2017. For the week, Brent was down 15%.
Crude prices plunged as stocks on Wall Street succumbed to a free-fall. The S&P 500 was down 13% on the week, heading for its worst weekly slump since October 2008. In precious metals, gold tumbled 3.5% after higher margin calls imposed on gold traders and selling by hedge funds to cover losses elsewhere.
The World Health Organization said on Friday it had raised its worldwide risk assessment on the coronavirus to “very high” from high. Previously, only China, where the outbreak started, had been designated the very high-risk assessment.
Analysts say the main reason for the panic selling across markets was uncertainty on how much worse the pandemic could get and how much longer it could last, with the global death toll already at above 2,800 amid 83,000-odd infections. But some, including President Donald Trump, think the virus may just “go away” as the warmth of the spring and summer months beckon.
However, Scott Shelton, energy futures broker at ICAP in Durham, N.C., said:
“Even if the coronavirus disappears as we warm up, as the supply chain for everything is ‘freezing up’ and may slow down manufacturing while the credit markets are also having the same issues as banks are not lending according to many. You can’t have global growth without those two working relatively well.”
Moody’s Analytics said the Federal Reserve may have to restart an easing cycle it ended in December if there were signs that the U.S. economy, which was into a record 11th year of growth, was under serious threat from the coronavirus. Speculation is rife that the central bank may announce a rate cut of between a quarter and half point at its March policy meeting.
Yet, given the uncertainty spawned by the pandemic, “Fed rate cuts may fall short of stabilizing markets,” the research unit of Moody’s said.
It said it expected the U.S. economy to grow by an annualized rate of 1.3% in the first quarter, down by 0.6% point because of the coronavirus. Growth for all of 2020 was seen at 1.7%, down 0.2% point.
Crude traders now await to see if the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers – led by Saudi Arabia and Russia – could agree by next week to cut more than one million barrels per day from global production to stop the market’s bleeding.
See also:
- Breaking: Oil Facing Worst Weekly Crash Since ’08 Financial Crisis
- Oil Prices Plunged More Than 3% as Coronavirus Threat Looms; OPEC Meeting Looms
Natural Gas (Hellenic Shipping News)
This winter, natural gas prices have been at their lowest levels in decades. On Monday, February 10, the near-month natural gas futures price at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) closed at $1.77 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). This price was the lowest February closing price for the near-month contract since at least 2001, in real terms, and the lowest near-month futures price in any month since March 8, 2016, according to Bloomberg, L.P. and FRED data.
In addition, according to Natural Gas Intelligence data, the daily spot price at the Henry Hub national benchmark was $1.81/MMBtu on February 10, 2020, the lowest price in real terms since March 9, 2016. Henry Hub spot prices have ranged between $1.81/MMBtu and $2.84/MMBtu this winter heating season (since November 1, 2019), generally because relatively warm winter weather has reduced demand for natural gas for heating. Natural gas production growth has outpaced demand growth, reducing the need to withdraw natural gas from underground storage.
Dry natural gas production in January 2020 averaged about 95.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to IHS Markit data. IHS Markit also estimates that in January 2020 the United States saw the third-highest monthly U.S. natural gas production on record, down slightly from the previous two months.
IHS Markit estimates that U.S. natural gas consumption by residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power sectors averaged 96 Bcf/d for January, which was about 4.4 Bcf/d less than the average for January 2019, largely because of decreases in residential and commercial consumption as a result of warmer temperatures.
However, IHS Markit estimates that overall consumption of natural gas (including feed gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities, pipeline fuel losses, and net exports by pipeline to Mexico) averaged about 117.5 Bcf/d in January 2020, an increase of about 0.2 Bcf/d from last year. This overall increase is largely a result of an almost doubling of LNG feed gas to about 8.5 Bcf/d.
Because supply growth has outpaced demand growth, less natural gas has been withdrawn from storage withdrawals this winter. Despite starting the 2019 – 20 heating season with the third-lowest level of natural gas inventory since 2009, by January 17, 2020, working natural gas inventories reached relatively high levels for mid-winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) data on natural gas inventories for the Lower 48 states as of February 7, 2020, reflect a 215 Bcf surplus to the five-year average. In EIA’s latest short-term forecast, more natural gas remains in storage levels than the previous five-year average through the remainder of the winter.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report and Short-Term Energy Outlook
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), January 2020 was the fifth-warmest in its 126-year climate record. Heating degree days (HDDs), a temperature-based metric for heating demand, have been relatively low this winter, which is consistent with a warmer winter. During some weeks in late December and early January, the United States saw 25% to 30% fewer HDDs than the 30-year average. This winter, through February 8, residential natural gas customers in the United States have seen 11% fewer HDDs than the 30-year average.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center data
Source: EIA
.