U.S. markets bounce, then fall one day after coronavirus-fueled sell-off - The Washington Post

The Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq composites both fell about 1.2 percent.

After such extreme sell-offs, stocks tend to bounce back quickly. But the market’s performance Tuesday morning appeared to tell a different story. American businesses are still wary that Chinese manufacturing and production will be stalled until the outbreak is under control. And the Federal Reserve is up against fresh pressure to find an emergency salve.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index sank more than 3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index was down roughly 0.6 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was essentially flat.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE sank 1.15 percent and Germany’s DAX was roughly 0.8 percent in the red.

The Chinese government confirmed 508 new cases, along with 74 deaths, bringing the total number of accumulated infections nationwide to 77,658, with 2,663 deaths. Iran confirmed 95 cases nationwide, with at least 15 deaths. And South Korea reported 144 new cases, bringing its national total to 977.

Shares of Moderna, the Massachusetts-based drugmaker, surged 10 percent Tuesday morning on reports that it had shipped the first batch of a coronavirus vaccine to U.S. government researchers. The share price had skyrocketed 15 percent in pre-market trading.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday evening that Moderna had sent vials to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md. The Institute told the Journal that it expects to start a clinical trial of 20 to 25 healthy volunteers by the end of April to test whether two doses of the vaccine induce an immune response that can guard against the infection.

Much is still unknown about the novel coronavirus virus and the illness it causes, prompting a rush to produce a vaccine and test its safety and efficacy. That push isn’t only coming from private biotech firms. Late Monday, the White House asked Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency spending to boost its coronavirus response.

“The administration believes additional federal resources are necessary to take steps to prepare for a potential worsening of the situation in the United States,” wrote Acting White House Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought in a letter to congressional leaders.

Separately, President Trump said Tuesday the U.S. stock market would crash if he doesn’t win reelection. Trump routinely cites the strength of the U.S. markets, which have long been trading at or near record highs, as a barometer of his presidency. From the White House to the campaign trail, he touts that success as one of his chief accomplishments.

Speaking at a business round table during his 36-hour visit to India, Trump said the markets would see a boost if he wins in November. But “if I don’t win, you’re going to see a crash like you’ve never seen before,” Trump said.

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2020-02-25 15:55:00Z
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Consumer confidence rises less than expected in February - CNBC

Consumer confidence rose less than expected in February as people's assessment of current conditions wavered, data released Tuesday by The Conference Board showed.

The consumer confidence index came in at 130.7, up from 130.4 in January. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 132.6. The Conference Board's present situation index, which accounts for consumers' assessment of the current business and labor environment, dropped to 165.1 from 173.9 in January.

The confidence index's weaker-than-forecast print comes a day after the stock market had its worst day in two years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 1,000 points, amid concerns over the coronavirus' impact on the global economy.

"Despite the decline in the Present Situation Index, consumers continue to view current conditions quite favorably," said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. "Consumers' short-term expectations improved, and when coupled with solid employment growth, should be enough to continue to support spending and economic growth in the near term."

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

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2020-02-25 15:00:00Z
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Amazon's first big 'Go' grocery store opens in Seattle with 5,000 products - Engadget

Lindsey Wasson / Reuters

Amazon's checkout-free Go concept has officially morphed into a supermarket. Amazon Go Grocery opens in Seattle today, with 5,000 items for sale across the 10,400-square-foot premises. Using a range of cameras, shelf sensors and software, shoppers can pick up the items they want and simply walk out the door -- their accounts are charged via a smartphone app as they leave.

While this isn't a brand new concept – Amazon has been running a number of Go convenience stores since 2018 -- this is the first time the technology has been implemented on such a large scale. Shoppers can choose from a much wider range of goods, such as organic produce and wine, making the concept a much more viable alternative to the usual weekly shop involving scanners and checkouts. Indeed, the store has been positioned closer to residential areas -- as opposed to business districts -- to encourage this.

And it could get even bigger. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon Go vice president Dilip Kumar said, "There's no real upper bound. It could be five times as big, it could be 10 times as big." Kumar hasn't clarified exactly how many Go Grocery stores the company has planned, although it has previously said it hopes to open as many 3,000 Go convenience stores by 2021.

Leveraging Amazon's Go technology on this larger scale, however, has not been without challenges. As GeekWire reports, implementing accurate weighing and pricing for goods such as loose produce has been a major focus for the larger stores, especially ensuring it's done in a way that shoppers can intuitively engage with. Other obstacles have been circumnavigated entirely --– there's no meat or seafood counter, for example, and no on-site food preparation. Fresh meat products are instead brought in throughout the week, individually wrapped. When it comes to alcohol, there's a human on hand to check IDs.

While the new store is certainly indicative of Amazon's own plans for cashless grocery shopping in the future, it's also designed to act as a showpiece for the technology overall. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the company has been discussing licensing its cashless platform to a number of potential partners, including other convenience stores and shops in airports and sports arenas. And as this kind of technology is implemented in more and more spaces, it might not be long until the concept of carrying a wallet is almost completely redundant.

Via: WSJ, GeekWire

In this article: amazon, app, business, cashless, food and drink, food-and-drink, foodanddrink, Go, Grocery, Seattle, services, shopping, smartphone, technology, tomorrow

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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2020-02-25 12:37:43Z
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'This is different' — El-Erian warns against buying coronavirus pullback fears in stock market - CNBC

Economist Mohamed El-Erian told CNBC on Tuesday that investors should hold off on buying equities that were hit hard in the latest coronavirus-driven plunge.

"I stress, this is different," the Allianz chief economic advisor said in a "Squawk Box" interview, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged over 1,000 points or 3.5%, in its worst single-session in more than two years.

Just because buying market dips has worked in the past does not mean it's going to work this time, he said. "I would continue to resist, as hard as it is, to simply buy the dip."

Disruptions to corporate earnings and economic growth from "shock" events such as the coronavirus tend to stick around longer than more fundamental downturns, said El-Erian.

"We're going to have a lot of risk-aversion on the part of economic actors. It's going to take time," he said. "Economic sudden stops are hard to restart."

The World Health Organization on Tuesday countries around the world to ready for the coronavirus to come "knocking at the door."

On Feb. 3, El-Erian first warned investors not to buy market drops as they might have in the past. He said at the time that the coronavirus is going to "paralyze China," adding that it will "cascade throughout the global economy."

That's exactly what's happening.

The spike of coronavirus cases beyond China, specifically in South Korea and Italy, sparked concerns about a prolonged global slowdown due to the outbreak and erased $1.7 trillion in global stock market values Monday.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to about a 100-point higher Tuesday open on Wall Street for the Dow.

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2020-02-25 12:13:00Z
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Home Depot shares rise after earnings top estimates, CEO says investments are paying off - CNBC

Home Depot beat Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter, and its CEO Craig Menear said the results indicate its significant investments in the company are paying off.

Here's what the company reported compared with what analysts expected for Home Depot's fiscal fourth quarter, based on Refinitiv data:

• Earnings per share: $2.28 vs. $2.10, expected
• Revenue: $25.78 billion vs. $25.76 billion, expected
• Same-store sales: 5.2% vs. up 4.8%, expected

The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer's shares were up more than 2% in premarket trading on the earnings news. It also increased its dividend by 10% and backed its prior forecast for the year.

For the fourth quarter that ended Feb. 2, Home Depot reported that net income rose 5.8% to $2.48 billion, or $2.28 a share, from $2.34 billion, or $2.09, a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected the company to earn $2.11 a share.

Revenue fell 2.7% to $25.78 billion from $26.49 billion a year ago, but it outpaced analyst estimates of $25.76 billion.

Home Depot's sales per square foot were $425.70, up nearly 3% from $414.17 a year ago. Its average ticket also increased to $68.29, up about 4% from $65.59 a year ago.

Home Depot's shares have been trading near an all-time high, buoyed by a strong U.S. economy and a housing market with appreciating home values. But the company is been under pressure as it spends billions of dollars to integrate its brick-and-mortar stores and its online business. It announced in 2017 that it would invest about $11 billion over three years as part of its "One Home Depot" program.

The company cut its forecast twice in 2019. In December, Home Depot said its forecast for 2020 sales would be below Wall Street expectations and its margins would be pressured by its investments. That news caused the company's shares to temporarily fall.

But on Tuesday, Home Depot reiterated its forecast for fiscal 2020, calling for total sales growth between 3.5% and 4% and same-store sales growth of between 3.5% and 4%. It plans to open six new stores in 2020.

Menear said that fiscal 2019 was "marked by significant progress as we invest to transform ourselves into The Home Depot of the future."

He said the company has "more conviction than ever that our strategic initiatives are creating a value proposition that is unique to the marketplace and will extend our leadership position for years to come."

Home Depot leaders have said its investments will peak this year. The company plans to spend $3.9 billion, up from $3.6 billion in 2019 and $3.3 billion in 2018.

Home Depot's investments have fueled changes, such as improving signage to make its big-box stores easier to navigate, revamping its supply chain to speed up deliveries and adding lockers in stores for pickup of online purchases.

The company's shares are up nearly 25% over the past 12 months. It has a market value of about $261.5 billion.

Investors will listen on Tuesday's earnings call to hear if Home Depot and its supply chain will be hurt by the coronavirus outbreak. About 70% of the company's products are sourced from the U.S., but 30% come from other parts of the world — with much of that coming from China, according to company spokeswoman Sara Gorman.

Home Depot is gearing up for spring, its busiest sales season. Home Depot said that it plans to hire 80,000 additional employees, with many part-time hires staffing its garden center. That's on par with seasonal hiring in recent years.

Home Depot is the largest home improvement chain in the country. It has about 2,290 retail stores and more than 400,000 employees across the U.S., Canada, Mexico.

Read the full earnings release here.

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2020-02-25 10:18:00Z
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A pause after the plunge? US stock futures rise, suggesting Tuesday gains - msnNOW

© Getty Images The front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Stocks on Wall Street plunged Monday, but futures trading suggests a rebound — or a least a respite — on Tuesday.

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Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00)  rose more than 200 points on Tuesday, while S&P 500 futures (ES00) gained 0.8% and Nasdaq Composite futures (NQ00) added more than 1%

A pause or bounce-back would not be unusual. The past 10 times that the S&P 500 index fell by as much as 3%, for example, it declined just 0.27%, on average, in the next trading session, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Researchers at Bespoke Investment Group also said Monday that, over the past 11 years, declines of more than 2% for the S&P 500 have tended to see healthy rebounds, particularly when that daily slide happens on a Monday. “Since March 2009, there have been 18 prior 2%+ drops on Mondays, and SPY has seen an average gain of 1.02% on the next day (Turnaround Tuesday),” they wrote.

Read more: The Dow plunges more than 1,000 points — here’s how the stock market tends to perform after big drops

Crude oil prices, which tumbled 5% Monday, ticked up in electronic trading, with West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery (CLJ20)  and April Brent crude (UK:BRNJ20) , the global benchmark, each up around 0.5%.

Gold prices (GCJ20) , which jumped 1.7% Monday to their highest point in seven years, slipped 1.5% to $1.651.80.

Asian markets continued to fall, with Japan’s Nikkei (JP:NIK)  — which was closed for a holiday Monday — last down over 3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO)  fell 1.6%, though South Korea’s Kospi (KR:180721) , which fell 4% on Monday, rebounded 1.1% on Tuesday.

Monday on Wall Street, the Dow finished more than 1,000 points lower, marking its third-worst daily point drop in history, as the global spread of the coronavirus raised worries that the impact on economic growth could be worse than investors expected, hurting the prospects for a global recovery in 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed 1,031.60 points, or 3.6%, to settle at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 (SPX)  slumped 111.86 points, or 3.4%, to close at 3,225.89, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP)  off by 355.31 points, or 3.7%, to finish at 9,221.28.

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2020-02-25 10:00:00Z
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A pause after the plunge? U.S. stock futures rise, suggesting Tuesday gains - MarketWatch

Stocks on Wall Street plunged Monday, but futures trading suggests a rebound — or a least a respite — on Tuesday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, +0.28%   rose more than 200 points on Tuesday, while S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.35%  gained 0.8% and Nasdaq Composite futures NQ00, +0.56%  added more than 1%

A pause or bounce-back would not be unusual. The past 10 times that the S&P 500 index fell by as much as 3%, for example, it declined just 0.27%, on average, in the next trading session, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Researchers at Bespoke Investment Group also said Monday that, over the past 11 years, declines of more than 2% for the S&P 500 have tended to see healthy rebounds, particularly when that daily slide happens on a Monday. “Since March 2009, there have been 18 prior 2%+ drops on Mondays, and SPY has seen an average gain of 1.02% on the next day (Turnaround Tuesday),” they wrote.

Read more: The Dow plunges more than 1,000 points — here’s how the stock market tends to perform after big drops

Crude oil prices, which tumbled 5% Monday, ticked up in electronic trading, with West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CLJ20, -0.21%   and April Brent crude BRNJ20, -0.12%  , the global benchmark, each up around 0.5%.

Gold prices GCJ20, -1.25%  , which jumped 1.7% Monday to their highest point in seven years, slipped 1.5% to $1.651.80.

Asian markets continued to fall, with Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -3.34%   — which was closed for a holiday Monday — last down over 3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -1.60%   fell 1.6%, though South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +1.18%  , which fell 4% on Monday, rebounded 1.1% on Tuesday.

Monday on Wall Street, the Dow finished more than 1,000 points lower, marking its third-worst daily point drop in history, as the global spread of the coronavirus raised worries that the impact on economic growth could be worse than investors expected, hurting the prospects for a global recovery in 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.56%  shed 1,031.60 points, or 3.6%, to settle at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 SPX, -3.35%   slumped 111.86 points, or 3.4%, to close at 3,225.89, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -3.71%   off by 355.31 points, or 3.7%, to finish at 9,221.28.

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2020-02-25 05:55:00Z
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