US open: Stocks drop as traders wait on Capitol Hill
Shares on Wall Street were trading sharply lower even after the US central bank announced its plans for open-ended asset purchases.
But there was disappointment among traders after a proposed roughly $1.6trn government spending package failed to pass muster overnight in the Senate.
As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrials was trading down by 4.41% at 18,830.77, alongside a 4.4% drop on the S&P 500 to 2,203.77, while the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.66% at 6,697.85.
Front month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures meanwhile were slipping 3.2% to $21.92 on NYMEX, while the US dollar spot index was down by 0.46% at 102.34.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note meanwhile was 12 basis points lower to 0.74%.
An hour before the opening bell, the Federal Reserve opened the door to unlimited purchases of Treasury and mortgage securities , and agency commercial mortgage-backed securities, alongside raft of other credit facilities for employers and consumers.
In the background, traders were also keeping a close eye on the latest lockdown measures across the globe in response to the pandemic.
"As long as we continue to see this kind of exponential growth around the world, the case for a stock market bounce is weak," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
"Even stability will be hard to come by. If investors hate uncertainty, they'll despite this. The v-shaped recovery is a hope of the past, everyone is now just hoping that the temporary unemployment spike doesn't become more permanent or we have a real problem on our hands."
At the weekend, in remarks to Bloomberg, St.Louis Fed chief, James Bullard, said the US economy might shrink to half its size in quarterly annualised terms during the second quarter, resulting in a spike in the rate of unemployment to 30%.
He reportedly also laid out the case for a "powerful" fiscal programme that would substitute for the $2.5trn of lost income over the three months to June and eventually ensure a strong recovery.
Dollar General was little despite announcing 50,000 new hires, mostly temporary, by the end of April, to meet heightened demand for household essentials.
In the retailing space, JP Morgan slashed its target prices on a raft of companies, including Urban Outfitters (from $25 to $18), Abercrombie & Fitch (from $16 to $10) and Kohl's from $42 to $22.
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.47 5.76%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $156.36 2.77%
Boeing Co. (BA) $97.16 2.26%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $116.12 1.89%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $89.91 0.45%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $46.41 -0.02%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.91 -0.34%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $136.40 -0.69%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $137.38 -0.74%
Dow Jones - Fallers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $74.51 -9.72%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $54.49 -8.25%
Visa Inc. (V) $137.15 -6.59%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $30.99 -5.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $118.26 -5.31%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.03 -5.07%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $219.38 -4.30%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $115.10 -4.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $80.29 -3.84%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $143.09 -3.64%
S&P 500 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $51.77 12.28%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $14.67 11.47%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $93.88 7.98%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $4.83 7.81%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $29.62 7.51%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $357.57 7.43%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $63.97 7.26%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $55.76 7.14%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $40.50 6.61%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $55.35 6.50%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Macerich Co (MAC) $6.17 -16.28%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $13.27 -16.28%
Macy's Inc. (M) $5.14 -14.62%
Realty Income Corp. (O) $41.65 -12.16%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $26.70 -11.10%
Wyndham Destinations Inc. (WYND) $17.56 -10.82%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $6.44 -10.76%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $14.57 -10.61%
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $39.47 -10.48%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $9.53 -10.35%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $51.77 12.28%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $93.88 7.98%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $357.57 7.43%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $63.97 7.26%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $55.76 7.14%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $231.01 6.90%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $40.50 6.61%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $55.35 6.50%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $105.97 5.81%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.47 5.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $18.61 -6.81%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $77.50 -5.22%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $174.49 -4.80%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,021.82 -4.71%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,017.92 -4.71%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $49.58 -4.60%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $29.62 -4.59%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $193.02 -4.37%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $219.38 -4.30%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $184.31 -4.12%