Stock market news live: Stock futures extend losses after Dow's worst quarter since 1987 - Yahoo Canada Finance

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Stocks futures fell Wednesday morning, signaling more selling after the Dow posted its worst quarterly drop since 1987.” data-reactid=”16″>Stocks futures fell Wednesday morning, signaling more selling after the Dow posted its worst quarterly drop since 1987.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="In the U.S., officials’ outlooks around the coronavirus outbreak have grown increasingly somber, as the case count topped 189,000 – comprising around one-fifth of known global cases – and the death toll rose about 3,000. During a White House briefing Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said Americans should prepare for what is going to be “a very painful two weeks” as the pandemic paces toward a peak in the U.S. Based on new White House projections, the death toll could reach up to 240,000 domestically.” data-reactid=”17″>In the U.S., officials’ outlooks around the coronavirus outbreak have grown increasingly somber, as the case count topped 189,000 – comprising around one-fifth of known global cases – and the death toll rose about 3,000. During a White House briefing Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said Americans should prepare for what is going to be “a very painful two weeks” as the pandemic paces toward a peak in the U.S. Based on new White House projections, the death toll could reach up to 240,000 domestically.

Each of the three major indices suffered stunning declines during the first three months of this year as the coronavirus outbreak escalated globally, triggering widespread stay-at-home orders, effectively shutting down travel-related industries and grinding a myriad other business operations to a halt.

As of market close Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 20% for the year to date, the Dow fell 23.2% and the Nasdaq dropped 14.18%, with the latter’s declines cushioned relative to the other indices as investors bought into big tech names. The Information Technology sector was the leader in the S&P 500 for the first quarter, followed by the Health-Care sector.

The Energy sector, meanwhile, was the S&P 500’s biggest laggard, dropping 51% for the year to date. This coincided with a precipitous decline in crude oil prices, with domestic West Texas Intermediate posting its single largest quarterly and monthly declines on record, settling more than 66% lower for the year to date on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia has vowed to hike its oil output to a record in April, further applying downward pressure to prices on the supply side while the coronavirus simultaneously drags down energy demand.

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8:15 a.m. ET: Private payrolls declined by 27,000 in March as small businesses shed jobs, according to ADP/Moody’s report

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Private payrolls fell less than expected in March, according to the ADP/Moody’s monthly report capturing the early impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the domestic labor market.” data-reactid=”23″>Private payrolls fell less than expected in March, according to the ADP/Moody’s monthly report capturing the early impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the domestic labor market.

Headline private payrolls sank by 27,000, beating expectations for a decline of 150,000, according to Bloomberg-compiled consensus data. in February, private payrolls rose by 179,000, downwardly revised from the 183,000 previously reported.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The ADP/Moody’s survey collects data through the 12th of the month, and so does not fully capture the most recent impacts to the job market caused by the coronavirus outbreak and related social distancing measures.” data-reactid=”25″>The ADP/Moody’s survey collects data through the 12th of the month, and so does not fully capture the most recent impacts to the job market caused by the coronavirus outbreak and related social distancing measures.

By company size, small businesses bore the brunt of declines in March, with companies of up to 49 employees losing 90,000 payrolls. Medium and large business each posted net gains in payrolls.

Both the goods-producing and services sectors saw net job losses in March, with the services sector leading declines. Trade, transportation and utilities industries lost 37,000 jobs, and administrative services lost 12,000 payrolls. In the goods-producing sector, construction lost 16,000 jobs.

Small businesses lost 90,000 jobs in March, according to ADP/Moody's. — Small businesses lost 90,000 jobs in March, according to ADP/Moody’s.

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8:00 a.m. ET: Home Depot announces early store closures, expanded COVID-19 safety measures

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The Home Depot (HD) became one of the latest major retailers to announce operational changes amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company said Wednesday morning it will shrink its store hours and close at 6 p.m. daily to give staff “additional time to perform cleaning and restock shelves.” Store associates will take their temperatures before work, it added.” data-reactid=”50″>The Home Depot (HD) became one of the latest major retailers to announce operational changes amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company said Wednesday morning it will shrink its store hours and close at 6 p.m. daily to give staff “additional time to perform cleaning and restock shelves.” Store associates will take their temperatures before work, it added.

The company also said it is limiting the number of customers inside at any given time, and eliminating spring promotions to avoid incentivizing more shoppers into retail locations. The company froze prices nationwide on products in high demand due to the coronavirus outbreak, and is prioritizing fulfillment to health-care centers and personnel.

Home Depot also said it is expanding its paid time off policy for workers to accommodate disruptions due to the coronavirus, and is implementing a temporary bonus program for workers in stores and distribution centers.

Shares of Home Depot fell 3.8% in early trading to $179.55 each.

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7:09 a.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures drop, Dow sheds 600+ points

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:09 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): down 3.19%, or -82 points to 2,487.75
Dow futures (YM=F): down 3.14% or -682 points to 21,069.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): down 2.74% or -213 points to 7,573.25
Crude (CL=F): +$0.49 (+0.49%) to $20.58 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$10.00 (+0.63%) to $1,606.60 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -8.9 bps to yield 0.61%

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7:00 a.m. ET Wednesday: Mortgage applications jumped last week as refinances surge, but new purchases extended declines

Mortgage applications jumped by a seasonally adjusted 15.3% over the prior week for the week ending March 27, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday. This came following a 29.4% weekly drop for the week ending March 20.

The MBA’s index tracking refinances surged 26% from the previous week and was more than double that of the comparable period last year. Purchases, however, decreased 10% compared with the previous week, and 24% compared to the same week last year.

“Mortgage rates and applications continue to experience significant volatility from the economic and financial market uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis. After two weeks of sizable increases, mortgage rates dropped back to the lowest level in MBA’s survey, which in turn led to a 25 percent jump in refinance applications,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement. “The bleaker economic outlook, along with the first wave of realized job losses reported in last week’s unemployment claims numbers, likely caused potential homebuyers to pull back.”

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