Gibbs Wealth Management President Erin Gibbs and Money Map Press Chief Strategist Shah Gilani discuss the risks and rewards in the market now and how to capitalize on them.
U.S. stock markets fell modestly as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen prepared for the two-day Capitol testimony of the government’s relief efforts at COVID-19.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 32715.42 | -15.78 | -0.05% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3943.79 | +3.20 | + 0.08% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 13374.958397 | -2.58 | -0.02% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points, or 0.27%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were weaker by 0.19% and 0.08%, respectively.
Powell and Yellen will tell the House Financial Services Committee that the US economy is recovering, but work is still in progress. Yellen should be asked about the size of the $ 1.9 trillion relief package, while Powell will have to answer for the Fed’s recent decision to end emergency capital relief for banks. Both will be presented to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.
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In equities, the financial sector became weaker with the recovery of longer-term US Treasury bills, flattening the yield curve after a transcript of Powell’s testimony expressed caution about the state of the economic recovery. The 10-year reference yield was 4 basis points lower by 1.64%, down from last week’s high of close by 1.75%.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 55.76 | -0.18 | -0.33% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 103.06 | +0.56 | + 0.55% |
Meanwhile, major oil companies Chevron Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp. retreated as West Texas Intermediate crude sank $ 2.64 to $ 58.92 a barrel, as longer blockages in Europe mean weaker energy demand.
Travel-related names were also under pressure, with American Airlines Group Inc., Carnival Corp. and TripAdvisor Inc., all in the crosshairs.
In mergers and acquisitions, the bidding war for laser maker Coherent Inc. continued with fiber optic company Lumentum Holdings Inc. increasing its bid to approximately $ 7 billion, or $ 230 in cash and 0.6724 shares of Lumentum for every Coherent share owned. II-VI Inc. last week offered $ 7 billion for Coherent.
Elsewhere, GameStop Corp. must disclose its quarterly results after closing. The report will be the first since the frenzy of negotiations with Reddit that began in late January.
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Foreign markets have generally fallen.
France’s CAC 40 followed the decline in Europe, down 0.54%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.41% and 0.34%, respectively.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.34%, China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.93% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.61%.