Investors began moving more money back into stocks on Thursday, with all three major stock indices moving back into positive territory. The positive trading session was lead by the usual tech stocks, Facebook (FB ), Amazon (AMZN ), Apple (AAPL ), Microsoft (MSFT ), Netflix (NFLX ) and Google (GOOGL ), as well as other new names like Zoom (ZM ) and Slack (WORK ), the latter of whom announcing thousands of new paying customers this month.
Despite the more than need positivity that was brought to markets Thursday, statistics from BMO Capital Markets brought a more sobering look at Wall Street currently: Nearly 70% of the S&P 500 stocks hit 52-week lows this week; This is the first time in history that the S&P has moved at least 4% for seven consecutive days; CBOE's Volatility Index (VIX) set an all time high this week, meaning that the current market is more turbulent than it was during the 2008 Financial Crisis.
Adding to the bleak outlook recent statistics are showing, Bank of America (BAC ) warned investors that the COVID-19 recession isn't on its way, but already has arrived. The firm expects that the economy will "collapse" in the second quarter, shrinking by 12% GDP for the full year and will contract at least 0.8%. Bank of America isn't the first major firm to assert this stance either, with Morgan Stanley (MS ) on Monday saying that a 2020 global recession is now the bank's base case.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (SPY ): +0.48% or +11.40 points to 2,409.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ): +0.95% or +188.48 points to 20,087.40
Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ ): +2.30% or +160.75 points to 7,150.58
In Major Stock News, Uber (UBER ) stated on Thursday that it is prepared to survive the coronavirus crisis, saying that in a worst case scenario outlook the company would still have $4 billion in case reserves. Uber has recently joined Lyft (LYFT ) in the move to halt shared rides amid the pandemic. Casino stocks--MGM Resorts (MGM ), Wynn Resorts (WYNN ), Penn National Gaming (PENN ), Las Vegas Sands (LVS ), Boyd Gaming (BYD )--all rallied Thursday, as investors use this week's sell-off as a buying opportunity. Communication stocks--Dish Network (DISH ), Vonage (VG ) and Comcast (CMCSA )-all rallied as internet and telecoms are expected to benefit from the outbreak. Shares of restaurant companies that are changing services more toward delivery--Chipotle (CMG ), Domino's (DPZ ), Papa John's (PZZA ), Starbucks (SBUX ) and Red Robin (RRGB )--surged Thursday as demand for home meals increases across the United States.
In Stock Sector News, sectors posted mixed gains and losses on Thursday as investors traded with a bit more certainty from the Trump administration's recent actions. The majority that had performance gains Thursday: Energy +6.75%, Consumer Discretionary +3.40%, Financials +2.25%, Materials +2.22%, Communication Services +1.66%, Information Technology +1.11% and Industrials +0.33%. The few that had performance losses: Utilities -5.47%, Consumer Staples -2.91%, Health Care -1.87% and Real Estate -1.34%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, oil prices increased a single-day record of 24% on Thursday after President Donald Trump stated that he would get involved in the global price war at an "appropriate time." West Texas Intermediate (USO ) jumped +12% and Brent Crude (BNO ) gained 6.62%, bringing the benchmark's prices to $25-$29 per barrel. Gold (GLD ) took another small hit on Thursday, with the metal's price slumping -0.89% as investors move money back into stocks. The U.S. Dollar (UUP ) saw another surge in strength on Thursday, with the DXY Index increasing +1.86%.
