Investors nerves still will be heavily tested in coming days and weeks

Published: April 6, 2020 at 4:45 p.m. ET, By Mark DeCambre and Joy Wiltermuth

U.S. stocks soared more than 7% Monday, ending near session highs, as investors focused on signs that the rapid spread of COVID-19 may be stabilizing in the New York, which is now the center of the pandemic.

How did major indexes fare?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (US:DJIA) rose 1,627.46 points, or 7.7%, to finish at 22,679.99. The S&P 500 (US:SPX) climbed 175.03 points, or 7%, to end at 2,663.68. The Nasdaq Composite (US:COMP) surged 540.15 points, or 7.3%, to close at 7,913.24.

On Friday, the Dow was 360.91 points, 1.7%, lower to end at 21,052.53, while the S&P 500 lost 38.25 points, or 1.5%, to close at 2,488.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 114.23 points, or 1.5%, to end at 7,373.08.

Monday’s rally marked the biggest one-day percentage gain for all three stock indexes since March 24, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

What drove the market?

Investors were focused on signs that the coronavirus spread was slowing in New York City, the urban metropolis reporting the highest number of cases in the U.S. The latest data showed that the city saw its first decline in fatalities stemming from the virus, but analysts warned it’s unclear if this would represent a lasting trend.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care as his symptoms worsened, but a falling number of deaths in Spain and Italy buoyed investors, who have seen Europe as a proxy of how long it might take for the disease’s spread to abate in the U.S.

“It’s very tentative, but that’s what people have been waiting to see,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at SunTrust Advisory Services, in an interview.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday was hopeful that the state may be nearing an apex in terms of coronavirus cases, but also warned against the “real danger of getting overconfident too quickly,” during his daily press briefing. The governor also doubled the civil penalty to $1,000 for people defying the state’s social-distancing measures and extended the closing of all schools and nonessential businesses until April 29.

President Donald Trump, during a Sunday news briefing, said the days and weeks ahead may be some of the toughest in the pandemic era.

“The U.S. will reach a horrific point in terms of death, but it will be a point where things will start changing for the better,” he said Sunday evening.

Vice President Mike Pence said “we’re starting to see glimmers of progress,” referring to efforts to slow the spread of the deadly pathogen that has infected more 1.3 million people and claimed more than 70,000 lives worldwide. In the U.S., some 330,000 have become infected with the illness, which has shut down swaths of the economy here and elsewhere in the world.

Still, the week ahead is likely to be a tough one for investors. Cities including New York, Detroit and New Orleans are expected to see a surge in infections in the coming days, according to experts.

Meanwhile, the New York Federal Reserve said Monday that its commercial paper funding facility will begin on April 14, which will see the Fed buy commercial paper issued by corporations, banks and municipalities that have struggled to raise cash, seen as a key backstop of the U.S. economy.

The Fed and Treasury Department also said Monday that they plan to launch a new program to buy loans that financial firms make through the government’s emergency small-business lending program, according to the Wall Street Journal.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Sunday that he didn’t believe the U.S. economy or jobs market was in “free fall” as the coronavirus sweeps the country.

But former Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said unemployment could already be at 13% and move higher, and suggested second-quarter GDP could decline by 30%.

Which companies were in focus?

JP Morgan Chase & Co. shares (US:JPM) rose 6.4% after CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders that the bank had sufficient capital to get through even the most adverse scenario, but conceded the bank’s 2020 earnings would be “meaningfully” lower.

Carnival Corp. stock (US:CCL) surged 20% on Monday after the Saudi Arabia-based sovereign-wealth fund The Public Investment Fund disclosed it had acquired an 8.2% stake in the cruise operator, making it the third biggest shareholder in Carnival, according to FactSet data.

Shares of Wayfair (US:W) soared 41.2% after the online retailer said business had more than doubled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

3M Co. (US:MMM) was in focus after the company said a news report alleging the U.S. had seized shipments of N95 respirators headed for Berlin were “inaccurate.” Shares gained 5.2%.

Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (US:SEAS) rose 15.9% after the company’s chief executive resigned from his position after five months.

American Airlines Group (US:AAL) shares rallied 1.2% despite getting a downgrade to underweight from overweight from a J.P. Morgan analyst, who withdrew his stock price target and said the airline has been “mortally wounded” by the COVID-19 related disruptions.

Boeing Co. (US:BA) , Raytheon Technologies Corp. DK:RTX and American Express US:AXP shares led the way for the blue-chip Dow in afternoon trade.

How did other markets trade?

Government bond yields reversed their decline, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury (BX:TMUBMUSD10Y) up 8.8 basis points to 0.675%, based on Dow Jones Market Data.

Oil futures fell, leaving West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery (US:CLK20) down$2.26, or 8%, to settle at $26.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after front-month prices on Friday ended the week 31.8% higher, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

In precious metals, June gold (US:GCM20) rose $48.20, or 2.9%, to settle at $1,693.90 an ounce, its highest finish for a most-active contract since Dec. 17, 2012, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The U.S. dollar (US:DXY) was up 0.2% against a basket of its major trading partners, according to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index. Year-to-date, it is up 4.5%.

Global equity markets rallied in Europe and in Asia. The Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP) returned 3.7%, while the Japanese Nikkei index (JP:NIK) closed 4.2% higher.

Sunny Oh contributed to reporting.

Source: www.marketwatch.com