Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Stocks Drop as Coronavirus Crunches the Job Market, Economy
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
April 3, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — The stock market’s first reaction to Friday’s stunningly bad jobs report was to take it in stride. But Wall Street slid through the day as investors looked ahead to the likelihood that even worse numbers are on the way.

Stocks initially held steady after the government said U.S. employers cut 701,000 more jobs than they added last month, the first drop in nearly a decade. Many businesses have slammed to a halt amid attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, and investors were fully expecting to see such abysmal numbers.

But the market headed lower as the day progressed and, as has become typical in recent Fridays, investors looked to get out of stocks ahead of the weekend, which could be filled with even more bad news. The losses accelerated after New York’s governor announced the biggest daily jump yet for deaths caused by the coronavirus in the country’s hardest-hit state.

“It was interesting to see that the initial reaction to the jobs number wasn’t more significant,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest. “As that sunk in, you started to see the market start to sell off after realizing that these numbers are going to get a lot uglier.”

The S&P 500 fell 38.25 points, or 1.5%, to 2,488.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 360.91 points, or 1.7%, to 21,052.53, and the Nasdaq was down 114.23, or 1.5%, to 7,373.08. Small-company stocks fell far more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index lost 33.76 points, or 3.1%, to 1,052.05.

Potentially scary events on the calendar include Thursday’s weekly report on applications for unemployment benefits, which has been the closest thing to a real-time measure of how ferociously layoffs have swept the country. Companies will also soon begin reporting their profit results for the first three months of the year, with reporting season beginning in earnest in two weeks. Next month’s jobs report may even show the economy has wiped away the last of the 22.8 million jobs created during its nearly decade-long hiring streak.

Investors Will Be Watching the Number of New Coronavirus Cases

Friday’s jobs report likely didn’t fully capture the extent of the recent job losses, which have been accelerating by the day, because it collected data from before stay-at-home orders were widespread.

“There is far worse to come,” said Eric Winograd, senior economist at AllianceBernstein.

Most of all, investors will be watching the number of new coronavirus cases. Only the peak in that can give some clarity on how long the economic downturn will last and how deep it will be.

“The worry is, there’s just too much uncertainty,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research for Nationwide.

The S&P 500 is down 26.5% since its record set in February, reflecting the growing assumption that the economy is set to slide into a sudden, extremely sharp recession.

The panic selling that dominated the first few weeks of the sell-off has eased a bit since Washington unleashed massive amounts of aid to help markets and the economy. The Federal Reserve has promised to buy as many Treasury securities as it takes to keep lending markets running smoothly, and Congress approved a $2.2 trillion rescue plan for the economy.

“Together, these actions are staggering and unprecedented and will go some distance toward helping to cushion the economic blow of this health crisis and help get the country to the other side,” said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.

This past week, the S&P 500 lost 2.1%, a milder swing than the 10.3% surge and 15% drop of the prior two weeks.

The United States has more than 266,000 confirmed cases of the virus, which leads the worldwide tally of more than 1 million compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

More Than 58,000 People Have Died, but Over 225,000 Have Recovered

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

More than 58,000 people have died, but over 225,000 have recovered.

Businesses that were just hanging on before the outbreak because of the then-strong economy may not survive. Retail chains and malls in particular are under threat, said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network.

“It’s a bit of a brush fire that we’re going to get,” he said. “The strong will survive on the other end of this.”

Markets got a bit of a lift Friday from another gain in oil prices.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 11.9% to $28.34 per barrel, adding on to its nearly 25% surge the prior day on expectations that Saudi Arabia and Russia may dial back their price war. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose $4.17 to $34.11 a barrel.

The world is awash in oil as demand for energy collapses, and President Donald Trump said Thursday that the rivals may be close to cutting back on production to prop up oil’s price.

Whether oil-producing countries actually follow through on that adds just one more layer of uncertainty for the market.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

UP NEXT

Bomb Cyclone Kills 1 and Knocks Out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Riders Stuck in Midair for Over 2 Hours on Knott’s Berry Farm Ride

UP NEXT

Shouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital

UP NEXT

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

UP NEXT

Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’

UP NEXT

Warren Slams Biden Admin for Failing to Hold Israel Accountable on Gaza Aid

UP NEXT

Suicides in the US Military Increased in 2023, Continuing a Long-Term Trend

UP NEXT

New FDA Rules for TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language and No Distractions

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

1 hour ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

1 hour ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

2 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

2 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

3 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

3 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

3 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

4 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

5 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

Gov. Gavin Newsom in a stop Thursday in Fresno defended the recent actions of his air board, saying he takes “pride” in new clim...

12 minutes ago

12 minutes ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
43 minutes ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

47 minutes ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

1 hour ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
1 hour ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

2 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

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

Search

Send this to a friend