Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Markets continue to plunge on spreading coronavirus anxieties

Dow plunged another 879, decliners over advancers a huge 10-1 & NAZ tumbled 255.  The MLP index sank an enormous 8+ to the 183s (not seen for over 10 years) & the REIT index fell a record 9+ to the 419s.  Junk bond funds dropped around 2% (major declines for this class) & Treasuries soared on heavy demand (more below).  Oil dropped 1+, going below 50, & gold fell 24 to 1652 on profit taking after its recent rally (more below).

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow tried to assuage concerns over the cornavirus & its impact on the US economy.  “We have contained this. I won’t say [it’s] airtight, but it’s pretty close to airtight,” Kudlow said. ” He added that, while the outbreak is a “human tragedy,” it will likely not be an “economic tragedy.”  “There will be some stumbles. We’re looking at numbers; it’s a little iffy,” Kudlow said.  “But at the moment ... there’s no supply disruptions out there yet.”  His comments came as the stock market tanked for a 2nd straight day amid worries that the coronavirus outbreak would lead to a prolonged global economic slowdown.  The Dow fell than 700.  Yesterday, the 30-stock average had one of its worst days in history, dropping more than 1000.  Investors dumped equities in favor of Treasuries, which are traditionally seen as a safe haven during volatile stretches for the stock market.  The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 1.32% to reach an all-time low & the 30-year also traded at a record low.  Yields move inversely to prices.  Still, Kudlow said the US is “holding up nicely,” adding, “All I can do is look at the numbers.”

Larry Kudlow says US has contained the coronavirus and the economy is holding up nicely

Federal Reserve officials see the coronavirus as a significant threat to growth, but the extent of that is not known yet, Vice Chair Richard Clarida said.  Stocks have sold off aggressively on fear that the COVID-9 virus will slow the Chinese economy, which could have ripple effects across the global supply chain.  Markets widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates in response.  However, Clarida said the central bank is comfortable with policy as it is now while officials monitor the disease’s impact.  “The disruption there could spill over to the rest of the global economy,” he said in in a speech in DC.  “But it is still too soon to even speculate about either the size or the persistence of these effects, or whether they will lead to a material change in the outlook.”  Should that outlook change, he said, “we will respond accordingly.”  Clarida pointed out that inflation remains muted.  If the bottleneck in China should lead to a slowdown in demand & lower prices, the Fed could ease in that situation.  However, Clarida reiterated the stance from his fellow Fed officials that they don’t see a cut in rates given current broader conditions.  “As long as incoming information about the economy remains broadly consistent with this outlook, the current stance of monetary policy likely will remain appropriate,” he added.

Fed Vice Chair Clarida says it’s still too soon to tell how much coronavirus will impact growth

US health officials, preparing for a potential US outbreak of the new coronavirus, said they hope COVID-19 will prove to be seasonal & subside in the summer, like the flu.  The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said there is a hypothesis among mathematical modelers that the outbreak “could potentially be seasonal” & relent in warmer conditions.  “Other viral respiratory diseases are seasonal, including influenza and therefore in many viral respiratory diseases we do see a decrease in disease in spring and summer,” Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization & Respiratory Diseases, said.  “And so we can certainly be optimistic that this disease will follow suit.”  Last week, US health officials started warning businesses, schools & parents to start preparing for the new coronavirus, which has infected more than 80K & killed at least 2700, to become a global pandemic.  The localized outbreaks overseas in Italy, Iran & South Korea are fueling concerns among infectious disease experts & scientists that the virus is spreading too quickly and may be past the point of containment.  Few conclusions have been drawn about the trajectory of the virus, Dr Messonnier said, so the CDC is preparing for wide-scale community outbreaks in the US.  “As time keeps ticking forward, we’re going to be, again, preparing as if this is going to continue, and preparing as if we’re going to see community spread in the near term,” she said.  “But I’m always going to be hopeful that that disease will decline either for the summer or that we’ll be over-prepared or that we won’t see that kind of high-level transmission here in the U.S.”

CDC hopes the coronavirus is seasonal like the flu and subsides in the summer

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to a record low as coronavirus fears raised concerns about global economic growth & sent investors scrambling into the safety of US gov bonds.  The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell about more than 6 basis points to 1.312% erlier today, below its previous record low of 1.325% set on Jul 6, 2016 in the aftermath of the UK's Brexit vote.  The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond tumbled more than 3 basis points to a new all-time low of 1.798%.  The long-duration rate has plunged about 40 basis points this year.  Bond yields fall as prices rise.  A sharp rise in cases of the new coronavirus in Italy, South Korea & the Middle East sparked fears of a global pandemic that will slow the world economy, sending investors running for cover.  Yields came under pressure in today's session after US health officials said that Americans should “prepare for the expectation that this is going to be bad.”  The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said the coronavirus is “likely” to continue to spread throughout the Us & outlined what schools & businesses should do if the disease becomes an epidemic.

10-year Treasury yield drops to record low of 1.31% as coronavirus hits the global economy

Home Depot (HD), a Dow stock, beat earnings expectations for Q4, boosted by a strong holiday season & above average sales of appliances.  The home improvement retailer has been focused on integrating its brick-&-mortar stores & its online business.  It's in the middle of a 3-year, $11B investment program.  CEO Craig Minear said results from the qtr show those investments are paying off.  He added that HD has stepped up its digital shopping experience, such as adding better search functionality to its website & in-store labels that allow customers to read an item's digital ratings.  “We’re excited about our e-commerce business as part of a whole interconnected retail strategy,” Craig Minear said.  “We believe that the front door of our store is now in the customer’s pocket, it’s on the job site, that most of our customer’s shopping experience actually starts in the digital world even if it finishes in the physical world.”  Over 50% of the time customers choose to pick up their online orders in store.  The company got a bounce in Q4 from holiday-related sales, including its gift center, artificial Christmas trees & other decor.  HD reiterated its forecast, which calls for total sales growth of 3.5-4% & same-store sales growth of 3.5-4%.  It plans to open 6 new stores in 2020 & also increased its div by 10%.  For Q4, EPS rose 5.8% to $2.28 from $2.09, a year earlier.  The forecast called for $2.10.  Revenue fell 2.7% to $25.78B from $26.49B a year earlier but outpaced estimates for $25.76B.  Fiscal 2019 was a week shorter than fiscal 2018.  Excluding the extra week of 2018, total sales would have increased nearly 4% for the qtr.  Sales per square foot were $425, up nearly 3% from $414 a year earlier & its average ticket also increased to $68.29, up about 4% from $65.59 a year earlier.  The stock fell 2.32 in a very ugly market.
If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/HD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7

Home Depot shares rise after earnings top estimates, helped by strong holiday and

Gold prices ended lower, giving back a big chunk of the previous session's haven-inspired gains in a bout of apparent profit-taking.  Gold for Apr fell $26 (1.6%) to settle at $1650 an ounce.  Gold advanced 1.7% yesterday to a 7-year high as investors dumped global equities & jumped into traditional haven assets amid worries about the spread of COVID-19 outside of China.  Overall, gold has done well against a backdrop of declines in Treasury yields & the US stock market.

Gold ends lower, gives back big chunk of flight-to-safety gains


Today was a rare example of panic.selling.  The Dow began with a tiny relief rally followed by steady selling for the entire session.  A little bargain hunting into the close allowed the Dow to finish above 27K.  On Fri it was above 29K, hard to believe!!  The Volatility Index finished up 4+ to the 29s, about double where it was on Fri signalling investors are avoiding risky assets (i.e.stocks).  These are very troubled times for stock investors & the outlook is gloomy.

Dow Jones Industrials








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