Stock Market News for Apr 7, 2020

Wall Street rebounded impressively on Monday after a disappointing last week following encouraging data on the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, market volatility seems stabilizing. All three major stock indexes rallied significantly and recorded their best single-day gain since Mar 24.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 7.7% or 1,627.46 points to close at 22,679.99. Notably, all 30 components of the index ended in the green. Point wise, this was the blue-chip index's third best daily gain historically. Visa Inc. V with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) advanced 11.6%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The S&P 500 climbed 7% or 175.03 to close at 2,663.68.The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) surged 8.5% and 8.3%, respectively. Notably, all eleven sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,913.24, soaring 7.3% or 540.15 points.

A total of 11.62 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.52 billion.Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 8.09-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 5.68-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.

Encouraging  Data Regarding Coronavirus

Coronavirus cases in the United States seem to be stabilizing. There were 30,000 new cases on last Thursday, 32,100 on Friday and 33,300 on Saturday. However, the number of new cases fell to 28,200 on Sunday before increasing modestly to 30,331 on Monday. Notably, number of new cases in New York, the coronavirus hotspot of the country, declined to 7,600 on Monday from 8,200 in Sunday — its second daily decline.

Globally, the number of new cases appears to have slowed down as on last Sunday (Apr 5), new cases increased 5.9% — smallest daily increase since Mar 10. In the Eurozone, new cases in Italy (the country with largest death toll so far) declined sharply, death toll in Spain is gradually diminishing and Germany is planning to remove lockdown in a phased manner. Moreover, China reported no death for the first time on Apr 6.

At a news briefing on Apr 6, President Donald Trump said “There’s tremendous light at the end of the tunnel,” as 10 COVID 19 drugs are currently in clinical trials and 15 more are readying for clinical trials.

Market Stabilizing Slowly

Overall market volatility is diminishing as evident from the movement of the COBE VIX — popularly known as the best fear-gauge of Wall Street. In a nutshell, the VIX indicates market's expectation of a 30-day forward-looking volatility based on the near-term S&P 500 index options (both puts and calls).

The VIX recorded its recent low of 13.38 on Feb 14. Thereafter, the fear gauge skyrocketed steadily to reach to its all-time high of 85.47 on Mar 18. This reflects an astonishing surge of 538.8% in 22 trading days. However, after Mar 18, the fear gauge took a U-turn and fell to 43.95 on Apr 6. This marks a decline of 53.4% in just 13 trading days. On Apr 6, the CBOE VIX closed at 43.95, marking its lowest closing since Mar 6.

As of Apr 6, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are down 23.3%, 21.5% and 24.9%, respectively, from their all-time highs recorded on mid-February. Year to date, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 20.5%, 17.6% and 11.8%, respectively.

Stocks That Made Headline

Fifth Third to Appoint 1,000 Employees Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Amid coronavirus crisis, Fifth Third Bancorp FITB is on a hiring spree to cater to the demand of increased Small Business Administration-backed loans followed by the $2-trillion Federal CARES Act, passed this March. (Read More)

EOG Resources Foresees Weak Q1 as Coronavirus Drags Oil Down

EOG Resources Inc. EOG announced that the unfavorable business environment, owing to coronavirus-induced weak energy demand, will get reflected in its March quarter results. (Read More)

Flowserve (FLS) Withdraws Annual View on Coronavirus Concerns

Flowserve Corporation FLS has withdrawn its earlier announced guidance for 2020 on end-market uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Read More)

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.

See their latest picks free >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Flowserve Corporation (FLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research