Stock futures plummet to begin new week on coronavirus concerns

By Ken Martin FOXBusiness

Investors are re-evaluating their expectations for economic growth, which many skeptics have been saying were overly optimistic

U.S. equity futures are pointing to losses to start the week on concerns about a rebound in cases of coronavirus.

The major futures indexes are off their worst levels, indicating a decline of 2.2 percent or more than 500 Dow points.

At one point, Dow futures were down 900 points.

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Shares are lower following the worst week for Wall Street in nearly three months.

Stocks are turning wobbly as investors re-evaluate their expectations for economic growth, which many skeptics have been saying were overly optimistic.

Case numbers are still growing in various nations, including emerging economies, and without a vaccine, relaxing lockdowns and reopening travel could bring on further waves of COVID-19 cases.

In Asian markets on Monday, Japan's benchmark Nikkei dropped 3.5 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite was down 1 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE fell 0.9 percent, Germany's DAX declined 0.9 percent and France's CAC gave up 0.8 percent.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	25438.53	-167.01	-0.65%
SP500	S&P 500	3018.64	-22.67	-0.75%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	9574.511	-14.30	-0.15%

On Wall Street Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent a day after dropping nearly 6 percent in its biggest rout since mid-March. It lost 4.8 percent for the week, snapping a three-week winning streak for the benchmark index.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9 percent and ended the week with a 5.6 percent loss after slumping nearly 7 percent on Thursday.

The Nasdaq, which climbed above 10,000 points for the first time on Wednesday, gained 1 percent.

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Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 61 cents to $35.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 8 cents to settle at $36.26 a barrel Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 30 cents to $38.43 a barrel.

Source: Fox Business

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Retail investors top Wall Street pros as stock market recovers from coronavirus selloff

Jonathan Garber FOXBusiness

Main Street investors were quick to buy heavily beaten down airlines and cruise operators

Retail investors have outwitted Wall Street as the stock market has come roaring back from its COVID-19-induced selloff.

A basket of stocks popular among Main Street investors has gained 61 percent since the stock-market bottom, outperforming the 45 percent gain of hedge fund and mutual fund favorites, according to Goldman Sachs. All have outperformed the benchmark S&P 500’s 36 percent advance.

“The surge in retail trading activity has amplified the market rotation toward cyclicals and value stocks,” wrote a team of Goldman Sachs strategists led by U.S. equity chief David Kostin.

BARSTOOL'S DAVE PORTNOY LEADS ARMY OF NEW TRADERS INTO STOCK MARKET

Stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 brought the U.S. economy to a screeching halt, inducing the sharpest economic slowdown of the postwar era and a 34 percent plunge in the S&P 500 from Feb. 19 through March 23.

As the dust settled from the selloff, value-seeking retail investors rushed into cyclicals, small caps and economically sensitive names that had lagged high-quality growth stocks during the market decline.

Airlines, cruise operators and other names severely impacted by COVID-19 were among the favorites of retail investors at online broker TD Ameritrade, according to data provided by the company.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AAL	AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC.	15.88	-0.86	-5.16%
CCL.DIS	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.

“We are looking at account openings, and what we're seeing is people are skewing younger and they're seeing opportunity that I think a lot of professional traders miss,” JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade, told FOX Business.

Online brokers slashed commissions to zero last fall, leading to a wave of account openings. The decision also put mom-and-pop investors and professionals on a “more level playing field,” according to Kinahan.

Zero commissions allow the retail investor to “do what's best for the individual trade rather than always be concerned about the cost of the trip,” Kinahan said.

Investors on both Main Street and Wall Street looking for value still have opportunity in this market as the gap between the highest and lowest valuation stocks ranks in the 93rd percentile since 1980, according to Kostin.

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“Wide dispersion signals long-term opportunity for value investors,” Kostin wrote. “However, the volatile rotations in recent weeks underscore just how difficult that opportunity can be.”

Source: Fox Business

Nasdaq soars to record high after job market's surprise bonanza

By Jonathan Garber FOXBusiness

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3%

The Nasdaq Composite surged to a record high Friday after the U.S. economy unexpectedly added jobs in May as businesses began reopening their doors following lockdowns ordered to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq touched an intraday all-time high of 9,842, and must close above 9,817.18 to finish the session in record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 953 points, or 3.63 percent, while the S&P 500 rallied 2.9 percent.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	27197.82	+916.00	+3.49%
SP500	S&P 500	3200.84	+88.49	+2.84%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	9831.027876	+215.21	+2.24%

The U.S. economy added 2.51 million jobs in May as the unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent, according to a report released Friday morning by the Labor Department. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitv were expecting the economy to lose 8 million jobs as the unemployment rate spiked to 19.8 percent.

President Trump, who posted an enthusiastic tweet afterward, praised the strength of the U.S. economy in a Rose Garden news conference and said 2021 would be its best year yet.

TRUMP SAYS 2021 WILL BE 'BEST YEAR' FOR US ECONOMY AFTER JOBS REBOUND

That would also be the first year of Trump's second term, should he fend off Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden to win re-election in November.

"We’ll go back to having the greatest economy anywhere in the world, nowhere close," Trump promised.

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The labor market may see further gains in the month of June after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday said New York City will begin its Phase 1 reopening on Monday, allowing construction, manufacturing and limited retail services to restart.

Air carriers continued to soar after United Airlines announced plans to reinstate flights to 150 destinations beginning in July. Rival American Airlines announced on Thursday it would increase its flight schedule to 55 percent capacity.

Meanwhile, Hertz shares surged on the heels of the positive travel updates. The car-rental company filed for bankruptcy on May 22.

Other travel-related names, including cruise operators, hotels and booking sites, also outperformed.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
UAL	UNITED AIRLINES HLDG.	44.02	+4.92	+12.59%
AAL	AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC.	19.02	+2.29	+13.73%
HTZ	HERTZ GLOBAL HLDGS	2.5806	+1.08	+72.04%
CCL	CARNIVAL CORP.	22.60	+4.12	+22.29%
EXPE	EXPEDIA GROUP, INC.	94.41	+4.53	+5.04%

In retail, embattled department store J.C. Penney is closing 154 sites in 38 states as it reorganizes its business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.

On the earnings front, Gap lost nearly $1 billion during the three months through March as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to shutter stores. The retailer said 55 percent of its locations have reopened and online sales are strong.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JCP	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
GPS	GAP	12.29	+0.15	+1.28%

Messaging platform Slack, meanwhile, was under pressure as first-quarter revenue growth was little changed despite the majority of Americans working from home.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WORK	SLACK TECHNOLOGIES INC.	33.31	-4.62	-12.19%

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 4.38 percent to $39.05 per barrel after OPEC and its allies neared a deal to extend production cuts through July. Gold was down 2.5 percent near $1,684 an ounce.

U.S. Treasurys remained under pressure, with selling driving the yield on the 10-year note up 11.4 basis points to 0.934 percent.

In Europe, France’s CAC advanced 3.71 percent, Germany’s DAX climbed 3.36 percent and Britain’s FTSE rose 2.25 percent.

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Asian markets rallied across the board, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 1.66 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.74 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively.

Source: Fox Business