US close: Markets finish weaker as Trump warns of pain
US stocks finished sharply lower on Wednesday, continuing on from the losses recorded at the end of the Dow's worst first quarter in history.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 4.44% at 20,943.51, the S&P 500 lost 4.41% at 2,470.50, and the Nasdaq Composite was 4.41% weaker at 7,360.58.
At the open, the Dow had lost 585.69, following on from losses seen in the previous session as market participants shrugged off some strong manufacturing data out of China and wrapped up the volatile quarter, which saw the blue-chip index lose more than 23% of its value in the first three months of 2020.
Donald Trump said that the US should brace for a "very, very painful two weeks" as a result of the rampant coronavirus.
White House officials projected between 100,000 and 240,000 virus-related deaths in the country.
"This is going to be a rough two-week period," Trump said.
"When you look at night the kind of death that has been caused by this invisible enemy, it’s incredible."
Trump also proposed another $2trn stimulus package, this time focused on infrastructure spending.
However, it remained unclear as to whether or not it would pass Congress.
“Of course, when the President of the United States warns of a 'very, very painful two weeks' to come, with the White House anticipating between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths as a result of the coronavirus, it's understandable for investors to be shaken,” said Oanda's Craig Erlam.
“This was always the risk of last week's rebound and we must now hope that quarantine measures bring that number considerably down.”
Erlam noted that it was a “huge change” in tone from the president, who had “failed to grasp” the true horror of the coronavirus in the past, repeatedly claiming it would be defeated soon.
“As we enter a rapid acceleration phase in the US which brings enormous uncertainty, the bullish case for stock markets is a little weak and we could see the rally quickly run out of steam.
“We can only hope the next two weeks aren't nearly as bad as we now fear, on all accounts.”
Global Covid-19 cases have now reached 862,234, while US deaths have topped 4,000.
On the macro front, total mortgage application volume increased 15.3% last week, driven entirely by refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
However, mortgage rates plummeted to their lowest level in the history of the MBA's survey, with the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of $510,400 or less, decreasing to 3.47% from 3.82%.
Elsewhere, private sector employment eased in the US last month, according to data released by consultancy ADP on Wednesday.
March's 27,000 slide in total US non-farm private employment compared to a gain of 179,000 in February.
The March data beat consensus, comfortably beating expectations for a fall of around 150,000.
However, the data was collated ahead of the introduction of more stringent lockdown measures introduced to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.
Still on data, US manufacturing activity in March fell at its fastest pace since August 2009, with the Covid-19 outbreak continuing to batter businesses.
The reading for the index came in at 48.5, down from 50.7 in February, according to IHS Markit, as both domestic and foreign demand continued to fall as companies shuttered factories and laid off staff.
Lastly, a key gauge of US manufacturing sector conditions for March printed ahead of forecasts but sentiment around the near-term growth prospects for the economy were described as "strongly negative".
There were also abundant reasons to believe that the hit to activity in the sector was being understated due to the way that the gauge was calculated.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index fell from a reading of 50.1 for February to 49.1 in March, compared to consensus forecasts for 46.0.
In the corporate space, bar and leisure operator Dave & Busters Entertainment sank 18.2% after reporting results.
Dow Jones - Risers
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $114.14 0.46%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $109.33 -0.61%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $37.53 -1.16%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.92 -1.51%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.92 -1.74%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $128.81 -1.77%
3M Co. (MMM) $133.14 -2.47%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $38.33 -2.49%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.75 -2.73%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $130.70 -12.36%
American Express Co. (AXP) $77.84 -9.08%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $84.36 -6.30%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $145.29 -6.02%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $43.03 -5.95%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $68.56 -5.38%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $240.91 -5.26%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $105.14 -5.22%
Visa Inc. (V) $153.11 -4.97%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $237.32 -4.84%
S&P 500 - Risers
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $46.47 2.63%
Target Corp. (TGT) $95.27 2.47%
Kellogg Co. (K) $61.09 1.83%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $496.65 1.71%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $306.60 1.47%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $29.76 1.43%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $153.16 1.42%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $74.18 1.30%
Kroger Co. (KR) $30.50 1.26%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $38.19 1.11%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $6.92 -56.91%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $8.80 -33.18%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $25.77 -19.89%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $25.65 -18.70%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $5.89 -16.34%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $23.87 -16.33%
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $46.03 -15.50%
Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $272.82 -14.88%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $11.07 -14.52%
HP Inc (HPQ) $14.84 -14.52%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $496.65 1.71%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $85.13 1.47%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $74.18 1.30%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.91 1.01%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $140.78 1.00%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $323.38 0.75%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $286.78 0.58%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $18.76 0.27%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $89.93 0.16%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.69 -12.31%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $139.22 -10.81%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $54.00 -10.28%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $157.20 -9.63%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $42.51 -8.52%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $447.34 -8.44%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $131.61 -8.44%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $481.56 -8.10%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $161.50 -8.08%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $243.07 -7.79%