Dow heads toward worst quarter since 1987

U.S. equity markets were trending toward their worst three-month stretch in years despite incremental gains on Tuesday as the final trading day of the quarter got underway.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crawled up 60 points, or 0.3 percent, in the opening minutes of trading while the S&P 500 added 0.08 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.4 percent. All three declined earlier in the day.

The Dow, which through Monday had fallen almost 22 percent this year, was on track for its biggest quarterly decline since 1987. The S&P 500 was looking at its worst quarter since 2008 and the Nasdaq was heading toward its largest quarterly decline since the end of 2018.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 22370.51 +43.03 +0.19%
SP500 S&P 500 2605.93 -20.72 -0.79%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 7745.306201 -28.85 -0.37%

Looking at stocks, cruise operator Carnival Corp. announced a $1.25 billion common stock offering and note offerings totaling $4.75 billion. Rival Norwegian Cruise Lines extended its suspension of cruises through May 10, a month longer than the previous date.

American Airlines said after Monday’s closing bell that it expects to receive $12 billion in federal aid. Last week, Congress said the industry would receive $50 billion in relief funds.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAL AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. 12.34 +0.09 +0.69%
CCL CARNIVAL CORP. 12.49 -0.31 -2.42%
NCLH NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD. 11.74 +1.06 +9.94%

Elsewhere, retailers The Gap Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. announced late Monday that they will furlough the majority of their workforces. The announcements followed the disclosure by Macy’s earlier in the day that it would furlough the majority of its 130,000 workers.

On the earnings front, furniture retailer RH reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the holiday quarter and withdrew its financial guidance for fiscal year 2020.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
M MACY’S INC. 5.14 -0.23 -4.19%
GPS GAP 7.29 -0.14 -1.82%
KSS KOHL’S CORP. 15.97 -0.06 -0.37%
RH RH 108.22 -9.78 -8.28%

Food producer Conagra reported disappointing top- and bottom-line results, but said it expects to exceed its full-year guidance.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
CAG CONAGRA BRANDS INC 29.57 +1.34 +4.75%

Looking at commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rallied 2.6 percent to $20.63 a barrel after finishing Monday at an 18-year low. Meanwhile, gold slid 1.1 percent to $1,624 an ounce.

U.S. Treasurys fell, running the yield on the 10-year note up 2.8 basis points to 0.699 percent.

In Europe, markets were mixed with France’s CAC down 0.4 percent, Germany’s DAX lower by 0.3 percent and Britain’s FTSE up 0.2 percent.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

Asian markets gained with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 1.9 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite edging up 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday.

Leave a Reply

Your compare list

Compare
REMOVE ALL
COMPARE
0

Main Menu