5 things to know before the stock market opens March 6, 2020
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1. Dow set to fall sharply after it nearly plunged 1,000 points Thursday
Traders work during the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 5, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo by Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were pointing to an over 750-point decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average at Friday’s open, in a wild week of that saw blue chips come out of correction and then back in. The Dow lost nearly 1,000 points Thursday, but was tracking before Friday’s session for weekly gains.
Investors have been selling stocks and buying bonds on concerns about the global spread of the coronavirus. The 10-year Treasury yield, which moves inversely to the price, continued its incredible march lower, plummeting to a new all-time low early Friday below 0.7% before recovering a bit. The 10-year yield broke under 1% for the first time ever Tuesday after the ill-received emergency Federal Reserve 0.5% interest rate cut designed to help blunt the virus’ economic drag.
In another safety trade, gold is having its best week in over a decade. Oil prices were plunging about 4% Friday morning, pushing them further into a bear market. OPEC is trying to persuade noncartel ally Russia to go along with a production cut to support crude prices.
2. Employment report may indicate early coronavirus impact on US jobs
Investors will be looking for any signs of coronavirus impact in the government’s February employment report, which comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET, one hour before the U.S. stock market opens. Economists are looking for February job gains of 175,000, with the unemployment rate edging down to 3.5%. Average hourly earnings are seen up 0.3% from January and a year-over-year gain of 3%. Also, at 8:30 a.m. ET, the January U.S. trade deficit is expected to be $46 billion, down from $48.9 billion in December. January wholesale inventories are out at 10 a.m. ET and January consumer credit is out at 3 p.m. ET.
3. Facebook tells works in the San Francisco Bay Area to work from home
Signage is displayed outside Facebook Inc. headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Facebook is telling employees in the San Francisco Bay Area — including its Menlo Park headquarters — to work from home. The social network is scrapping all Bay Area events and telling workers to cancel all travel in and out of the region. Earlier this week, a Facebook worker based in one of the Seattle offices tested positive, and the company told employees in the area to work from home. Two Microsoft employees in Washington state have contracted the coronavirus. Earlier this week, the company instructed employees in Puget Sound and California’s Bay Area to work from home and limit travel.
4. Bulk of US coronavirus cases in California and Washington state
The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. rose to 12, with more than 225 cases reported around the country. California and Washington state have the largest number of the cases. Washington state has seen 11 of the fatalities. The other was in California. Global coronavirus cases increased to more than 95,000 with at least 3,280 deaths.
The vast majority of cases are still in China, where the virus originated in December. However, in the three biggest hot-spots outside China, South Korea has nearly 6,600 with 42 deaths; Italy has more than 3,800 cases with 148 deaths; and Iran has more than 3,500 with 124 deaths.
5. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon recovering after emergency heart surgery
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, appears on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22nd, 2020.
Adam Galica | CNBC
JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon, 63, is recuperating after having emergency heart surgery. Co-presidents Daniel Pinto and Gordon Smith sent a memo to employees and shareholders, which said Dimon underwent a successful procedure to repair an acute aortic dissection and was alert and doing well. CNBC’s Wilfred Frost reports that Dimon woke up with chest pains Thursday morning and went to the hospital. Pinto and Smith will be jointly leading the company as Dimon recovers. Dimon was treated for throat cancer in 2014. While at the time he underwent eight weeks of chemotherapy, Dimon still led the New York-based bank. He recovered completely.
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