BY THE NUMBERS
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average at Wednesday's open. The Dow fell 26 points Tuesday after giving up an over 900-point surge earlier in the session. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also closed modestly lower. (CNBC)
The Nasdaq avoided going back into a bear market. But the Dow and S&P 500 remained in bear market territory, defined by declines of at least 20% from recent 52 week highs. All three stock measures hit record highs in February before the worst of the coronavirus crisis took hold in the United States. (CNBC)
The Federal Reserve releases the minutes from its most recent meeting at 2 p.m. ET. The meeting in question was the emergency weekend session in March when the Fed cut rates to a range of zero to 0.25%. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 400,000 on Wednesday, according to figures provided by NBC News, with 12,864 fatalities nationwide. The world's largest economy has recorded the most COVID-19 infections of any country around the globe by far. Cases in America are almost five times those in China, where the virus was first identified in December.
New York state's over 140,300 cases and 5,489 deaths are the most in the U.S. Half those cases are in New York City, which has more than 70% of the fatalities in the state.
Global coronavirus cases topped 1.4 million with 83,148 deaths and over 281,300 recoveries, according to Johns Hopkins University data. After the U.S., the worst of the outbreak is ravaging Europe. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, suffering from COVID-19, spent a second night in the intensive care unit at St. Thomas' Hospital in London. Johnson's condition is stable, according to officials. (CNBC)
In the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, authorities started allowing people to leave there for the first time since late January's lockdown. (Reuters)
President Donald Trump is blaming the World Health Organization for getting "every aspect" of the outbreak wrong. At Tuesday evening's White House coronavirus briefing, he threatened to withhold funding from the WHO, the United Nations' health agency. (CNBC)
In hopes of further helping U.S. small businesses, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked congressional leaders for an additional $250 billion for the small business loan program. Congress late last month approved a $350 billion small business loan program as part of an over $2 trillion stimulus. (CNBC)
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of both Twitter and Square, said he's going to set aside $1 billion in his Square equity to support relief efforts for COVID-19, and other causes, once the pandemic is over. Dorsey said he's pulling the shares from his stake in mobile payments company Square instead of Twitter because he owns more stock in the Square. (CNBC)
Tesla (TSLA) will furlough all non-essential workers and cut salaries as the virus outbreak shuts down the automaker's production. Tesla currently plans to resume production on May 4. (CNBC)
Walt Disney (DIS) may require visitors to have their temperatures checked when it reopens its theme parks, according to Executive Chairman Bob Iger. He told Barron's the temperature check is one way to make the public feel safe.
UnitedHealth (UNH) is moving to speed up payments to doctors and hospitals, with the nation's largest health insurer saying it was making the move to ease the financial stress experienced by health care providers. The accelerated payments will begin with $2 billion next week. (Forbes)
Boeing (BA) is implementing two new software updates for its grounded 737 MAX jet, as it moves toward securing regulatory approval to return the jet to service. (Reuters)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Amazon (AMZN) is suspending its Amazon Shipping service in June, according to the Wall Street Journal. The service is a competitor to UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) that delivers non-Amazon packages and is available in only a few U.S. cities.
Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) will furlough an unspecified number of workers starting April 12. It will pay workers until April 11, and provide health benefits throughout the furlough. A similar announcement comes this morning from Party City (PRTY), which is furloughing 90% of its store employees and 70% OFf those who work in other functions.
Levi Strauss (LEVI) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 40 cents per share, 5 cents above estimates, with the apparel maker's revenue also beating forecasts. It did say the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak would be material, and that it is withdrawing its 2020 guidance.
Pinterest (PINS) – Pinterest withdrew its 2020 guidance in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but provided preliminary numbers for its March quarter that met or exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Perrigo (PRGO said it saw a sales boost in the first quarter due to the coronavirus outbreak. The maker of over the counter drugs said a dramatic surge in demand took hold in March as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
Williams Cos. (WMB) adopted a so-called poison pill that will kick in if anyone accumulates a stake of 5% or more in the pipeline operator. It's the latest company to take such an action in the wake of plunging share prices.
WATERCOOLER
Zoom Video Communications (ZM) is the target of a class action suit, accused of overstating privacy standards and failing to make adequate disclosures about its security. (CNBC)