US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Rally but Finish the Week Lower

US stocks moved higher on Friday, led by the Nasdaq which rallied 1.6%. For the week the stocks were in the red. The S&P 500 index declined by approximately 1.3%. Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were higher, led by technology, energy shares bucked the trend. Durable goods declined sharply, as aircraft sales tumbled. Crude oil prices continued to rebound rising 3%, but failed to buoy energy shares. The VIX volatility index dropped sharply falling through 40%. Traders are now going under the premise that unless something really bad happens, the March lows might be the lows for the downward movement. US death tolls because of the coronavirus have topped 50K. It was a difficult day for retailers as L-brands continued to drop following news that Sycamore partners was pulling the plug on a merger.

A decline in Durable Goods Lead by New Aircrafts

US headline orders designed to last at least three years were down 14.4% in March, the biggest monthly drop since August 2014. New orders for aircraft and parts fell by more than $16.3 billion in March from February, a 296% decline, according to the Commerce Department. Since orders are recorded on a net basis, the figure incorporates canceled orders. New orders for automobiles and parts fell 18.4% in March. Excluding transportation, orders were down a more modest 0.2%. New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft,a closely watched proxy for business investment,were up 0.1%.

US Death Toll Surges

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 50,000 as President Trump signed a bill to release fresh relief funds for small businesses and some states began reopening parts of their economies. Confirmed coronavirus cases world-wide Friday exceeded 2.76 million, with more than 194,000 dead, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. accounted for nearly a third of the cases, exceeding 883,000, and more than a quarter of the deaths, at 50,114, according to the Johns Hopkins data.