The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared a 2,000+ point intraday loss by half after the Federal Reserve announced additional stimulus measures to combat a spreading coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. But it didn't take long for sellers to come back into the stock market.
Boeing shed more than 10% in the stock market today, hurt by a downgrade from JPMorgan to neutral from overweight. Tesla was one of the worst decliners in the Nasdaq 100, down 11% after Morgan Stanley maintained an underweight rating and lowered its price target to 480.
The coronavirus outbreak continued to dominate headlines, with U.S. Covid-19 cases now over 1,300 and climbing. Late Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced travel restrictions from Europe to the U.S., but Wall Street was hoping for more in terms of economic stimulus. In related news, the NBA suspended its season until further notice. The upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, known as March Madness, is still on but with no fans.
Stock Market Selling
The stock market pared losses just after 1 p.m. ET after the Fed announced more quantitative easing to prop up the U.S. economy. But sellers came into the stock market, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite down 8% or more in late trading.
On the NYSE, declining stocks swamped advancers by more than 35-to-1. Nasdaq decliners topped advancers by around 16-to-1.
More than 40 groups in IBD's database (out of 197 groups) fell 10% or more, with airlines, banks, department stores, homebuilders and mining stocks leading the downside. Cruise line operators tanked again after Carnival said its Princess Cruises unit would halt operations for 60 days.
Money flowed into bonds again after two days of profit taking. The 10-year Treasury yield slumped 9 basis points to 0.78%. U.S. crude oil futures settled at $31.50 a barrel, down 4.5%.
Among exchange traded funds, two typically defensive areas of the market failed to provide much defense. Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF was down more than 7%. VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF shed more than 8%.
Dow Jones Movers
Besides Boeing stock, big percentage decliners in the Dow Jones today included Dow Inc., IBM, Nike, IBM and Walt Disney.
Apple gave back 6%. It's in a rare group of stocks holding support at the 200-day line, and its relative strength line is in new high ground.
Check Out IBD Stock Lists and other IBD content to find dozens more of the best stocks to buy or watch.
Outside of the Dow Jones, growth stocks were decimated again. Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 8%, hurt by double-digit percentage declines for top-rated IBD 50 stocks like SolarEdge, Floor & Decor and Etsy.
Some of the last stocks left standing were taken down hard Wednesday. In the top-rated solar group, SolarEdge and Enphase showed losses of 10% or more. Leaderboard stock Dexcom, which had been holding above its 50-day moving average earlier this week, fell nearly 15% intraday before paring virtually all its loss.
Zoom Video Rises Again
Zoom Video Communications was the most resilient stock again in the MarketSmith Growth 250. It continues to show relative strength thanks to booming demand for the company's cloud-based videoconferencing services.
Zoom is in a select group of stock whose relative strength has been shooting into new high ground. Several top-rated China stocks boast bullish relative strength lines, including ZTO Express, which is finding support at its 50-day moving average again.
Follow Ken Shreve on Twitter @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
