Markets are looking to open stronger after Tuesday’s sharp losses, plus stocks to watch and more in the Money and Markets Wall Street Wake-Up.
The Top Story
Since Monday of last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 3,072 points.
That includes yesterday’s 785-point drop as all three major indexes suffered significant declines, despite a 50 basis-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 fell 2.8% and the Nasdaq suffered a 3% drop Tuesday as well.
On Wednesday, markets are looking to rebound following the staggering losses.
As of 8 a.m. EST, Dow futures were up more than 2.4%. The S&P 500 jumped 2.1% and Nasdaq futures moved up 2.2%.
After temporarily falling to 0.9% for the first time in history, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was hovering just above 1%.
Stocks to Watch Today
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) — The casual-wear retailer beat both quarterly earnings and sales in its recent financial report. The company reported earnings of $1.31 per share, beating analysts’ expectations by 5.6%. Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch were up 4% in premarket trading.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) — The luxury department store chain saw its share price drop 7.9% after missing quarterly sales and earnings projections. The company also issued lower guidance for the fiscal year.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) — Shares of the international information technology company were down 2.7% after it reported an 8% drop in quarterly revenue.
In the News
Uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the economy drove the Federal Reserve to cut rates by 50 basis points, not the recent downturn in the market, one Fed official said.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester told CNBC the Fed trimmed rates as risks surrounding the medium-term outlook for the U.S. economy have gone up.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty about the course of the virus and what impact it’ll have. We have already seen impacts in terms of travel and tourism, we’re going to see a reduction in activity for the first half of the year. This was really a response to the economy and the outlook and the risks around the outlook,” she said.
She did say the recent market drop had “piqued the interest of Fed policymakers.”
Google Cancels Its Biggest Event Due to Coronavirus
The 2020 Google I/O annual developer conference has been canceled by Google, due to coronavirus fears.
The company said it was not holding the event, originally scheduled for May 12-14 at its Mountain View, California headquarters.
“Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event,” the company said on its conference website.
It said it was looking for “other ways to evolve Google I/O to best connect with our developer community.”
Newell Brands Investigated by SEC
The maker of Sharpie markers and Rubbermaid containers is under investigation by the federal government.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the sales and accounting practices of Newell Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: NWL). The company reported the SEC issued a subpoena in January for various pieces of information.
Newell Brands said the informal requests included information on “sales practices and certain accounting matters” from 2016 forward.
Other Morning Reads
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JPMorgan Asks Thousands of Employees to Work From Home (CNN Business)
6 Popular Stocks Held By Hedge Funds (Money and Markets)
Earnings Report
Here are the companies releasing earnings reports today:
Dollar Tree Inc. (Nasdaq: DLTR)
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRVL)
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV)
Photronics Inc. (Nasdaq: PLAB)
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ZM)
Check back each morning before the opening bell for stocks to watch today with the Wall Street Wake-Up, here on Money and Markets.