The Wall Street pendulum continues with its big swings as the Dow has now seen quadruple digit moves in eight straight days. Unfortunately, today's move was once again lower as investors await economic stimulus measures to pass Congress. Meanwhile, billionaire investor Bill Ackman made an impassioned plea to President Trump to shut down almost all businesses in the U.S. for a month long extended "Spring Break," without which he argues a number of industries will not be able to survive and the death toll will be worse than it could have been. As the U.S. wages its war on coronavirus, Europe is facing its own battle as it has now passed China collectively in terms of the number of deaths attributable to the disease.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., housing starts fell 1.5% to a 1.599M rate in February. In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he is invoking the Defense Production Act in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that Housing and Urban Development will provide relief to homeowners and renters in response to the pandemic.
In Canadian news, Reuters reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Canadian government would provide C$27B in support directly to families and businesses that are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is ready to do even more.
TOP NEWS: The major Detroit automakers all traded lower after the Associated Press reported the the companies agreed to shutter all of their factories due to worker fears about the COVID-19 pandemic. The AP noted that the United Auto Workers union had been pushing for factory closures. Ford (F) ultimately confirmed the report, saying it is temporarily suspending production at its North America sites through March 30, while General Motors (GM) said that it will begin a "systematic orderly suspension" of manufacturing operations in North America. At the time of writing, Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) had not released an official statement on the matter.
In further COVID-19 news, Delta (DAL) shares dropped 26% after CEO Ed Bastian said in a regulatory filing that the airline expects March revenue to decline nearly $2B over last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Bastian added that the company will have a 70% systemwide capacity pullback planned until demand starts to recover and that 10,000 Delta workers have already entered voluntary leave.
Meanwhile, Pershing Square's Bill Ackman said in an interview on CNBC that all hotel stocks will go to zero if the coronavirus spread continues. Publicly traded companies in the space include Choice Hotels (CHH), Hilton (HLT), Hyatt (H), InterContinental (IHG), Marriott (MAR), Starwood (HOT) and Wyndham (WYN). Ackman, who is a big shareholder of Hilton, also notably said he is "aggressively buying" stocks, including Hilton and Starbucks (SBUX), as he believes that president "will do the right thing."
Of note, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and Walmart (WMT) were two of only a small number of gainers on the Dow during the session, gaining a respective 6.5% and 5.6%.
In earnings news, FedEx (FDX) shares closed almost 5% higher after the company's Q3 revenue came in better than expected. However, given uncertainty in Europe and the U.S. caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the shipper is suspending its FY20 earnings forecast.
Boeing (BA) said in a statement late Tuesday that it "supports a minimum of $60B in access to public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees, for the aerospace manufacturing industry."
Apple (AAPL) announced "its most advanced iPad Pro," which it calls "faster and more powerful than most Windows PC laptops." Apple also announced an updated MacBook Air, with "faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999."
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was United Natural Foods (UNFI), which rose 19.2% after BMO Capital analyst Kelly Bania upgraded the stock to Market Perform from Underperform, saying near-term grocery trends due to effects of the coronavirus are benefiting all grocers. Also higher was Stitch Fix (SFIX), which gained 5.1% after Nomura Instinet analyst initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and $18 price target.
Among the notable losers were casino operators, including Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Red Rock Resorts (RRR), Penn National (PENN) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN), after Nevada ordered the shutdown of all nonessential businesses, including the Las Vegas casinos. Also lower was Marriott, which fell 15.2% after Ackman's much-talked-about CNBC interview and following BMO Capital analyst Ari Klein's downgrade of the stock to Underperform.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 1,338.46, or 6.3%, to 19,898.92, the Nasdaq lost 344.94, or 4.7%, to 6,989.84, and the S&P 500 declined 131.09, or 5.18%, to 2,398.10.
Ford
-0.515 (-10.29%)
General Motors
-3.13 (-15.40%)
Ticker changed to STLA
-0.67 (-8.85%)
Delta Air Lines
-8.25 (-25.99%)
Choice Hotels
-11.2699 (-17.17%)
Hilton
-7.69 (-11.87%)
Hyatt
-8.565 (-18.98%)
InterContinental
-4.995 (-14.01%)
Marriott
-11.32 (-15.07%)
HOT
+
Symbol is WH
+ (+0.00%)
Walgreens Boots Alliance
+3.15 (+6.36%)
Walmart
+3.405 (+2.86%)
FedEx
+4.89 (+5.14%)
Boeing
-22.28 (-17.96%)
Apple
-3.77 (-1.49%)
United Natural Foods
+1.81 (+18.14%)
Stitch Fix
+0.45 (+3.32%)
Boyd Gaming
-3.2799 (-29.52%)
Caesars
-1.52 (-30.16%)
Las Vegas Sands
-3.14 (-7.69%)
MGM Resorts
-2.41 (-25.26%)
Red Rock Resorts
-1.99 (-34.61%)
Penn Entertainment
-2.77 (-37.84%)
Wynn Resorts
-11.28 (-20.77%)