Day Traders Diary

3/13/20

The major averages rebounded with the biggest point gain for the Dow ever after the worst one day decline on Thursday since the 1987 "Black Monday" market crash.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,985 points higher, or 9.4%, at 23,185. Friday marked the Dow's biggest-ever point gain. The S&P 500 climbed 9.2% to 2,711.02 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 9.3% to 7,874.23. The averages posted their biggest one-day gain since October 2008.

Equities rallied to their session highs into the close after President Donald Trump also said 50,000 new coronavirus tests will be available next week. Trump also said he asked the Energy Department to purchase oil for the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, boosting crude prices.

Also helping equities on Friday, the Federal Reserve said it will start buying Treasuries across all durations, starting with 30-year bonds. "These purchases are intended to address highly unusual disruptions in the market for Treasury securities associated with the coronavirus outbreak," the New York Fed said in a statement.

Apple and Facebook jumped more than 10% each to lead the so-called FAANG stocks higher. Google-parent Alphabet gained 9.3% while Amazon and Netflix both rose more than 6%.

For the week, the major averages posted steep losses despite Friday's sharp gains. The Dow lost 10% this week while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid more than 8% each.

Friday's action followed the official end of the longest bull-market run in history. The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5% Thursday in its worst day in more than three decades, joining the Dow in a bear market, or more than 20% from its recent peak. The Dow also suffered its worst point drop ever and the biggest percentage decline since 1987.

All eleven sectors ended on their highs. The CBOE Volatility Index dropped 23% after climbing above yesterday's high before pulling back, indicating the presence of expectations for a continuation of a bumpy ride.

Financials up 13% were at the forefront of today's advance, narrowing this week's loss to 9.8%. The Federal Reserve conducted another emergency liquidity operation, offering to buy Treasury securities of different maturities throughout the day to alleviate significant stress in the Treasury market, which caused bid/ask spreads on longer tenors to widen notably. Treasuries ended the day on a mostly lower note with the 10-yr yield rising ten basis points to 0.95%.