Dow Jones Today Is Volatile as COVID-19 Spreads Again

The Dow Jones today started in the red with futures down over 500 points this morning. That comes after finishing the worst week of trading since March. Investors should buckle up because we could be seeing a repeat performance of March.

Last week, concerns about a second wave of the COVID-19 virus, a weak economy, and a frothy market fueled a downturn of 1.4% over the week for the S&P 500. Airlines, retail, and hotel stocks led the downturn as investors took gains off the table.

We'll show you what you need to be watching in the stock market this week below.

Here are the numbers from Friday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Index Previous Close Point Change Percentage Change
Dow Jones 25,605.54 +477.37 +1.90
S&P 500 3,041.31 +39.21 +1.31
Nasdaq 9,588.81 +96.08 +1.01

Now here are what I think will be the most important market events and stocks on Monday morning.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Monday

  • On the coronavirus front, the number of U.S. cases is on pace to hit 2.1 million later this week. The number of American deaths surpassed 115,000 over the weekend. That's making a vaccine more urgent than ever. Countries across Europe have signed a deal with AstraZeneca Plc. (NYSE: AZN) to supply 400 million doses of a vaccine that it has under development with a team at Oxford. Should the company complete is trials successfully, it will provide the doses to Italy, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The company is currently in discussions with Brazil, China, Japan, and Russia as well.
  • Over the weekend, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said that the U.S. economic recovery will completely depend on the ability for public health officials to contain the COVID-19 epidemic over the summer. Kaplan worries both the recovery and the efforts to control the virus remain "relatively uneven." States like Alabama, Florida, and California - all of which have moved to reopen their economies - are now reporting a rise in coronavirus cases. That said, last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that shutting down the U.S. economy for a second time is not an option.
  • With the economy in focus, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify before Congress for two days this week and discuss last week's meeting. The Fed weakened sentiment for the U.S. economy last week when it predicted a slow recovery and plans to hold interest rates at 0% through 2022. This week's semiannual economic testimony will offer clues into plans by the Fed to purchase bonds and introduce additional stimulus.

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Stocks to Watch Today: BP, SHOP, WMT, HTZ

  • Shares of BP Inc. (NYSE: BP) fell 4.4% after the company announced plans to write off about $16.5 billion for the second quarter. It also said that it has lowered expectations for oil prices through the year 2050.
  • In deal news, Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) are partnering to expand the latter's third-party commerce platform. Shares of Shopify have been running higher thanks to strong Wall Street sentiment. Meanwhile, investors are paying close attention to Walmart to determine how much market share the company has increased in the brick-and-mortar and grocery businesses.
  • Shares of Hertz Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) fell more than 24% in premarket hours as the stock continues to slump from a recent, irrational rally. The firm has won a bankruptcy court ruling that will allow it to sell up to $1 billion in HTZ stock. The company is trying to capitalize on that recent stock price rally. However, we at Money Morning recommend that investors avoid this bankrupt company at all costs, especially with the threat of a second COVID-19 wave underway.

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About the Author

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.

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