Month: March 2020

March 29th 2020

Market Review

Despite Friday’s declines, U.S. major averages posted strong gains for the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 booking double-digit weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed 12.8% week to date to close at 21,636.78. The blue-chip benchmark recorded its biggest one-week gain since 1938. The S&P 500 finished at 2,541.47 and gained 10.3% this week for its best weekly performance since March 2009. The Nasdaq also had its biggest weekly gain in 11 years, rising 9.1% and closing at 7,502.38. Since their peaks, the Dow still stands 26.8% below its record high, the S&P 500 is down 25% from its Feb. 19 peak and the Nasdaq is off 23.6% from its all-time high. All key S&P sectors succeeded to close in positive territory for the week, led by the utilities sector. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 65.5. Read More

March 22nd 2020

Market Review

U.S. stocks attempted to rally on Friday, but failed, finishing another volatile and bruising week with sharp losses. After rallying more than 400 points earlier on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week at 19,173.98. The blue-chip gauge dropped 17.3% for the week, its biggest one-week fall since October 2008, when it slid 18.2%. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,304.92 and lost 15% week to date. The Nasdaq fell 12.6% from last Friday's close to end at 6,879.52 (after jumping more than 2% on Friday). Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had their worst weekly performances since the financial crisis in 2008. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average is now 35.2% below its all-time high level from February, while the S&P 500 is 32.1% below its high. All key S&P sectors ended once again in deep negative territory for the week, led by energy. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 66. Read More

March 15th 2020

Market Review

Last week, one of the longest bull market in U.S. history came to a sudden end. That event was accompanied with a level of volatility that has not been seen in decades. For the first time since 1997, circuit breakers at the New York Stock Exchange were tripped not once but twice (on Monday and Thursday) since the S&P 500 fell by 7% in both days. Thursday was the worst day in more than three decades as the S&P 500 plummeted 9.5%, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average also suffered its biggest percentage decline since 1987. By jumping more than 9% on Friday, U.S. stocks recovered some of their losses, but in the end the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 10.4% to 23,185.62 for the week. The S&P 500 closed at 2,711.02 and lost 8.8% for the week. Closing at 7,874.88, the Nasdaq saw an 8.2% weekly plunge. All key S&P sectors ended in deep negative territory for the week, led by energy. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, closed near 58 after spiking to 77 earlier in the day. Read More

March 8th 2020

Market Review

The market was in bounce mode last week. All three major U.S. averages eked out weekly gains after a wild roller-coaster week that saw the Dow swing 1,000 points or higher twice. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average succeeded to gain 1.7% to close at 25,864.78. The S&P 500 managed to eke out a weekly gain of 0.6% to close at 2,972.37. The Nasdaq advanced 0.1% for the week to end at 8,575.62. Among the key S&P sectors, utilities was the best weekly performer, while energy dragged. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 41.9. Read More

March 1st 2020

Market Review

It was a tough week on Wall Street  as the main benchmarks posted the steepest weekly losses since the financial crisis 2008. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 12% to end at 25,409.36 – its biggest weekly percentage loss since 2008. The S&P 500 closed at 2,954.22 and lost 11.5% week to date in its worst weekly performance since the crisis. Closing at 8,567.37, the Nasdaq lost 10.5% this week and was nearly 13% below a record high. All key S&P sectors ended in deep negative territory for the week, led by energy. Moreover, it was one of the fastest decline from an all-time high into correction territory on record. The CBOE Volatility Index hit a high of 49.48, its highest level since February 2018. Read More