The markets were creamed in the stock market today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 970 points, while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 fell 3.1% and 3.4%, respectively. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) roared back to life.
At one point, the VIX was up 30% on the day, but ended up “just” 24.7% after a late-session stock rally. Investors now try to size up how the non-farm payrolls report will come in.
It may be a little early for the coronavirus from China to begin impacting U.S. employment. However, that’s exactly what investors and economists will look to see on Friday before the open.
To little surprise, the iShares 20+ Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) has been in demand, rising another 2.5% on the day. Surprisingly, the exchange-traded fund didn’t hit new 52-week highs, although it’s quite close to doing so. That’s even as the 10-year Treasury yield sank to another record low on Thursday, as bonds continue to climb.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Airlines took it on the chin Thursday. Just look at the carnage: American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) fell 13.4%, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was down 7.2%, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) sank 13.3% and Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) dropped a whopping 18.2%.
Man, the decline was brutal, as forecasts call for large losses to the industry. Global airlines could lose $63 billion to $113 billion in revenue this year, thanks to coronavirus-driven travel restrictions. The International Air Transport Association estimates that the outbreak could cost $29.3 billion in revenue as governments continue to add arrival bans on select visitors from affected nations. It doesn’t help that many companies are banning their employees from traveling right now.
Speaking of those not willing to risk their employees’ health, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) are the latest companies to pull out of the South by Southwest event.
While the event is still on, the spread of the coronavirus continues to cause worry. Others who have pulled out include Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), TikTok, Mashable and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).
Toyota (NYSE:TM) is recalling 3.2 million vehicles globally due to a fuel pump issue. The fuel pump issue could lead to the vehicle stalling. The recall dates back as far as 2013 models and covers 1.8 million U.S. vehicles. In January the company originally expected to recall 696,000 U.S. vehicles.
Elsewhere in transportation, Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares were under extreme pressure on Thursday. The stock slipped 8%, as coronavirus worries continue to hit anything and everything around travel and transport. Even reports that the 737 Max may take its recertification flight in the coming weeks aren’t helping.
Instead, reports that Airbus (OTCMKTS:EADSY) may cut back on production is spooking BA investors, as shares sink to multi-year lows. As a result, the stock made our Top Stock Trades column.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long AAPL and GOOGL.
