Brendan McDermid/Reuters
- All three major US stock indexes plummeted on Wednesday as retail sales data and quarterly earnings reports reflected the negative impact of coronavirus.
- Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America shares tumbled trading after all three firms reported quarterly profit declines exceeding 45%.
- The Commerce Department announced retail sales plunged by 8.7% in March, its biggest drop since the department began tracking the series in 1992.
- West Texas Intermediate oil slipped to $19 per barrel after the International Energy Agency projected global demand for the commodity will slide by a record amount in 2020 amid the global virus lockdown.
- Watch all major indexes update live here.
US stocks slipped on Wednesday as dire quarterly reports pointed to a larger-than-expected hit to corporate profits amid the coronavirus shutdown.
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup saw earnings tumble 46% in the first quarter, with both missing consensus analyst forecasts. In addition, Bank of America reported a profit decline of 45% and a $3.6 billion spike in loan-loss reserves. All three stocks traded sharply lower at the open.
Retail sales data released Wednesday morning left investors with an bleak sign of the virus’s hit to consumer spending. The Commerce Department announced sales plummeted 8.7% in March, the biggest drop since the department began tracking the data in 1992. Sales were expected to dip by 8%, according to economists surveyed by Reuters.
Here’s where major US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 2,783.52, down 2.2%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 23,396.23, down 2.3% (553 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 8,359.46, down 1.8%
The market was also destabilized by declining oil prices. WTI crude oil tanked as much as 5% to $19.20 per barrel after the International Energy Agency said the coronavirus will prompt a record decline in global oil demand through the year. The agency’s projection comes after OPEC agreed on Sunday to a global production cut of 9.7 million barrels per day in an effort to prop up demand.
The commodity has plunged roughly 30% since early April. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, dipped 4.7% to $28.22 per barrel.
Wednesday’s decline has nearly placed stocks back at lows seen earlier in the week. The previous session pushed the Dow 559 points higher as signs of the coronavirus’s spread slowing drove fresh optimism. President Donald Trump indicated he’d like to open the national economy “ahead of schedule,” though the White House is positioned to butt heads with governors on when such moves should be taken.
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