Day Traders Diary

2/24/20

The major averages took a hit today as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1,031 points or 3.56%, at 27,960. The S&P 500 slid 3.35% to 3,225 while the Nasdaq Composite closed down 3.71% lower at 9,221. It was the Dow's biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up its gain for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and wiped out its year-to-date gain as well.

Coronavirus-impacted names led the way lower. Airline stocks Delta and American were both down more than 6% while United closed 5.4% lower. Shares of casino operators Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts dropped at least 5.2% each. MGM Resorts slid 5.4%.

Chipmakers, which are highly leveraged to the global economy, were also down broadly. Nvidia shares were down 7.1% while Dow-component Intel ended the day down 4%. AMD dipped 7.8%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down by 4.5%.

On the upside, Newmont Goldcorp rose 1.7% while Gilead Sciences rose 4.6%. Newmont set a 52-week high amid the continued strength in gold prices, while Gilead benefited from an acknowledgement from WHO that its Remdesivir drug is the only drug that appears to be effective in treating the coronavirus.

Gold rose to $1676.70/oz up 1.7% while the VIX index or fear gauge surged 46.6% to 25.03.

The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield fell nine basis points each to 1.26% and 1.38%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index finished flat at 99.30. WTI crude dropped 3.9%, or $2.09, to $51.25/bbl.