US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Close Higher, Led by the Nasdaq; Airlines Lag

US stocks opened lower but rebounded during the session to close higher led by gains in the Nasdaq. Airline stocks were under pressure as Warren Buffet over the weekend announced that he had sold his shares in most US airlines. The Oracle of Omaha also said that Berkshire Hathaway could not find any companies that they believed were undervalued.

Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, led down by Industrials, Energy shares bucked the trend. The strong rally in crude oil and an upgrade of the sector from Goldman Sachs has helped buoy the Energy space. A Small Business Survey declined to record lows according to CNBC.  The report showed that 21% of small businesses applied for loans and 7% reported that they were denied. US factory orders dropped in March. The dollar surged higher, and gold edge upward helping to buoy the gold miners. California was the first state to borrow money from the Federal Government to cover the ballooning increase in California first time jobless claims. The VIX touched 40, but reversed intra-day to close lower on the session.

US Factor Orders Decline

US factory orders posted a record drop in March, according to the Commerce Department. New orders for manufactured goods fell 10.3% from February to $445.8 billion in March, the biggest month-to-month fall in records dating to 1992. Orders for aircraft, autos and oil field machinery all declined. Net aircraft orders collapsed as airlines canceled contracts with Boeing. New orders for motor vehicles fell 6.7%, and those for mining and oil field machinery fell 7.2%. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, overall manufacturing orders were down a more modest 3.7%. New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft were down just 0.1%. Overall orders for durable goods products designed to last at least three years were down 14.7% in March, the biggest monthly drop since August 2014.

The FDA Sets Up Antibody Testing Rules

The Food and Drug Administration has imposed rigorous precision standards on commercial test companies and said it is cracking down on fraudulent actors. More than 200 antibody tests for Covid-19 entered the U.S. without previous FDA scrutiny on March 16, because the agency felt then that it was most important to get them to the public quickly.