Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Taylor Swift Announces New Album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

5 hours ago

Military Deployed to LA Protests Despite Little Danger There, General Testifies

6 hours ago

US Court Says Trump’s DOGE Team Can Access Sensitive Data

7 hours ago

How to Watch the Strongest Meteor Shower of the Summer

7 hours ago

Wall Street Edges Higher After Inflation Rises Moderately in July

7 hours ago

Gaza Suffering Has Reached ‘Unimaginable’ Levels, Say 24 Foreign Ministers

7 hours ago

Want to Work at Big Fresno Fair? Annual Jobs Event is Thursday

24 hours ago

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

1 day ago

Trump Says Both Sides in Ukraine War Will Need to Cede Territory

1 day ago

California Supreme Court Hands Victory to Rooftop Solar Panel Owners

1 day ago
Stocks Fall, Capping Wall Street's Worst Quarter Since 2008
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
March 31, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — Stocks fell Tuesday to close out Wall Street’s worst quarter since the most harrowing days of the 2008 financial crisis.
The S&P 500 dropped a final 1.6%, bringing its loss for the first three months of the year to 20% as predictions for the looming recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak got even more dire. Stocks haven’t had this bad a quarter since the last time economists were talking about the worst downturn since the Great Depression, when the S&P 500 lost 22.6% at the end of 2008.

“People are trying to digest the length and magnitude of what the coronavirus impact is going to be.” — George Rusnak, managing director of investment strategy at Wells Fargo Private Bank
The surge of coronavirus cases around the world has sent markets to breathtaking drops since mid-February, undercutting what had been a good start to the year. Markets rose early in the quarter, and the S&P 500 set a record with expectations that the economy was accelerating due to calming trade wars and low interest rates around the world.
But benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped by roughly two thirds this quarter on expectations that a weakened economy will need less fuel. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped below 1% for the first time as investors scrambled for safety, and it ended the quarter at roughly 0.67%. Germany’s DAX lost a quarter of its value, and South Korean stocks fell just over 20%.
The big question is if markets will get worse. At this point, no one knows.
“People are trying to digest the length and magnitude of what the coronavirus impact is going to be,” said George Rusnak, managing director of investment strategy at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
The steep drops from Tokyo to Toronto in recent weeks reflect investors’ understanding that the economy and corporate profits are in for a sudden, debilitating drop-off. Economies around the world are grinding to near standstills as businesses close their doors and people hunker down at home in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus.

The Numbers May Get Even Worse in the Following Quarter

But markets have also cut their losses in recent weeks on hopes that massive aid from governments and central banks around the world can blunt the blow. The S&P 500 was down nearly 31% for the quarter at one point, but it has climbed 15.5% since last Monday.
The Fed has promised to buy as many Treasurys as it takes to get lending markets working smoothly after trading got snarled in markets that help companies borrow short-term cash to make payroll, homebuyers get mortgages and local governments to build infrastructure. Congress, meanwhile, approved a $2.2 trillion rescue plan for the economy, and leaders are already discussing the possibility of another round of aid.
Whether markets have indeed found a bottom or whether investors have become too optimistic about the economic rebound coming after the viral outbreak peaks is impossible to say without knowing when the number of new infections will hit its peak.
“We’re kind of on this little milestone journey with markets,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. “First, we get the economic plan in place, then we have to start to see some of the containment actions pay off. At some point it’s going to be how do we get back to work.”
Among the next milestones for investors is Friday’s jobs report, which is expected to show a sharp drop in payrolls. Companies will also being reporting their earnings results for the first quarter in upcoming weeks, and analysts are looking for the steepest drop in profits since the start of 2016, according to FactSet.
The numbers may get even worse in the following quarter.

The Number of Known Coronavirus Cases Keeps Rising

Goldman Sachs economists said Tuesday they expect the U.S. economy to shrink 34% in the second quarter, but they expect growth to rebound in the third quarter.

The number of known coronavirus cases keeps rising, and the worldwide tally has topped 830,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number in the world, more than 170,000.
The S&P 500 fell 42.06 points to 2,584.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 410.32, or 1.8%, to 21,917.16, and the Nasdaq was off 74.05, or 1%, to 7,700.10.
The relatively modest moves are a big departure from earlier in the month, when huge swings punished investors. The S&P 500 had its worst day since Black Monday 1987 on March 12 with a 9.5% loss, for example, only to outdo itself with a 12% drop two trading days later. Sandwiched in between was a 9.3% surge.
The number of known coronavirus cases keeps rising, and the worldwide tally has topped 830,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number in the world, more than 170,000.
Most people who contract COVID-19 have mild or moderate symptoms, which can include fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause pneumonia and require hospitalization. More than 41,000 have died worldwide due to COVID-19, while more than 175,000 have recovered.
We’re still not even close to peak coronavirus in the U.S. which has already reported more cases than any other country and will sadly likely see a huge spike in the number of deaths, meaning further lockdown measures will likely follow,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA Europe. “Huge challenges still lie ahead.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

White House to Lead Review of Some Smithsonian Museums

DON'T MISS

Smittcamp Ends DA’s ‘Courtesy Appearances’ for Fresno City Attorney’s Office

DON'T MISS

Tariff Revenue Makes It Hard for Supreme Court to Rule Against Trump, Bessent Says

DON'T MISS

US Selects 11 Firms for Program to Fast-Track Small Nuclear Test Reactors

DON'T MISS

Former Guatemalan Police Officers, Officials Sentenced for Death of 41 Girls in Fire

DON'T MISS

Trump Picks Heritage Economist Antoni to Lead US Labor Statistics Agency

DON'T MISS

Newsom to Trump: Let’s End This ‘Rigging’ of House District Maps

DON'T MISS

US Deficit Grows to $291 Billion in July Despite Tariff Revenue Surge

DON'T MISS

Will Downtown Fresno Lot Finally Become Housing?

DON'T MISS

Big Fresno Fair Adds La Arrolladora Banda El Limón to 2025 Concert Series

UP NEXT

US Selects 11 Firms for Program to Fast-Track Small Nuclear Test Reactors

UP NEXT

US Deficit Grows to $291 Billion in July Despite Tariff Revenue Surge

UP NEXT

Cast a Vote for Your All-Time Favorite Post Stamps

UP NEXT

US to Retaliate Against IMO Members That Back Net Zero Emissions Plan

UP NEXT

Democrat Sherrod Brown to Seek a Return to US Senate in 2026 Election, Media Reports Say

UP NEXT

How to Watch the Strongest Meteor Shower of the Summer

UP NEXT

Explosions at US Steel Plant Leave One Dead, 10 Injured

UP NEXT

Terrible Thirst Hits Gaza With Polluted Aquifers and Broken Pipelines

UP NEXT

National Weather Service to Restore Hundreds of Jobs Cut Under Trump

UP NEXT

Where the Redistricting Wars Might Go After Texas

US Selects 11 Firms for Program to Fast-Track Small Nuclear Test Reactors

1 hour ago

Former Guatemalan Police Officers, Officials Sentenced for Death of 41 Girls in Fire

1 hour ago

Trump Picks Heritage Economist Antoni to Lead US Labor Statistics Agency

1 hour ago

Newsom to Trump: Let’s End This ‘Rigging’ of House District Maps

2 hours ago

US Deficit Grows to $291 Billion in July Despite Tariff Revenue Surge

2 hours ago

Will Downtown Fresno Lot Finally Become Housing?

2 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Adds La Arrolladora Banda El Limón to 2025 Concert Series

3 hours ago

Cast a Vote for Your All-Time Favorite Post Stamps

3 hours ago

US to Retaliate Against IMO Members That Back Net Zero Emissions Plan

4 hours ago

AI Startup Perplexity Makes Bold $34.5 Billion Bid for Google’s Chrome Browser

4 hours ago

White House to Lead Review of Some Smithsonian Museums

The White House said on Tuesday it will lead an internal review of some Smithsonian museums and exhibitions ahead of the 250th anniversary o...

16 minutes ago

People walk past the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 28, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 minutes ago

White House to Lead Review of Some Smithsonian Museums

Fresno County District Attorney lisa smittcamp Fresno City Attorney office janz
32 minutes ago

Smittcamp Ends DA’s ‘Courtesy Appearances’ for Fresno City Attorney’s Office

People walk across the plaza of the U.S. Supreme Court building on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. (Reuters File)
35 minutes ago

Tariff Revenue Makes It Hard for Supreme Court to Rule Against Trump, Bessent Says

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration created on April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

US Selects 11 Firms for Program to Fast-Track Small Nuclear Test Reactors

Mothers of victims and survivors react on the day the court rules in the trial for the deaths of 41 children in a fire at the Virgen de la Asuncion shelter in 2017, in Guatemala City, Guatemala August 12, 2025. (Reuters/Cristina Chiquin)
1 hour ago

Former Guatemalan Police Officers, Officials Sentenced for Death of 41 Girls in Fire

A person walks by the Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 13, 2021. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Trump Picks Heritage Economist Antoni to Lead US Labor Statistics Agency

Newsom Trump
2 hours ago

Newsom to Trump: Let’s End This ‘Rigging’ of House District Maps

A view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., April 4, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Deficit Grows to $291 Billion in July Despite Tariff Revenue Surge

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend