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© Reuters.By Kim Khan
Investing.com – Wall Street closed at its lows of the session Thursday, firmly in bear-market territory, with the posting a whopping 10% drop. That’s the kind of plunge in the blue-chip index that can earn a day a nickname with “Black” in front, with the drop rivaled only by the crashes of 1929 and 1987.
And the week’s not over yet.
Investors face one more trading day – Friday the 13th – that could bring a host of more government restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. But any moves, especially in the U.S., to soften the economic impact of the virus could bring in some buyers.
Here are three things that could move markets tomorrow.
1. Watching Congress and News Tickers Closely
The U.S. House of Representatives is still planning on voting for a Democratic-authored legislative package in response to Covid-19 tonight, but any legislation will need Republican support in the Senate.
That’s looking unlikely as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it an “ideological wish list” for Democrats, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
The package includes paid sick leave, enhanced unemployment benefits, supplement food assistance programs and free testing for the novel coronavirus.
But McConnell has said the Senate will not go into recess next week, so reports of progress in a deal the White House would be amenable to could lift sentiment. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi has been in contact about the legistlation with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin.
But that would be balanced by more headlines on the spread of the disease.
Late today, an Ohio health official estimated that as many as 100,000 people in the state have the virus, The Hill reported. Disney decided to close its California theme parks. And Belgium closed all schools, bars and restaurants.
2. More Fed Repo Action to Come
The Federal Reserve’s decision to provide $1.5 trillion in short-term funding was a brief ray of hope for bulls in today’s trading, but the selling soon resumed.
If the Fed wanted to boost asset prices with the decision it missed the mark. But it’s still fulfilling its repurchase agreement mission of providing liquidity to cash-strapped financial markets.
In its $500 billion repo operation today, dealers received $78.4 billion. Along with other repo programs, new operations totaled $276.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
On Friday the New York Fed will “further offer $500 billion in a three-month repo operation and $500 billion in a one-month repo operation for same day settlement.”
And with markets still swooning there will be some holding out for another Fed emergency rate cut tomorrow, bringing forth any action it may have planned at its meeting next week.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) said today it now expects the Fed to cut by 100 basis points at the meeting, down to a range of 0% to 0.25%, in “light of the continued growth in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and globally, the sharp further tightening in financial conditions, and rising risks to the economic outlook”.
3. Finally Some March Data
While the latest economic numbers have felt stale giving the changing environment around the coronavirus, tomorrow brings some insight into more recent conditions.
The University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of March consumer confidence at 10 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
The is expected to drop (unsurprisingly) to 95 from 101 in February, according to economists’ forecasts compiled by Investing.com.
That would put the index around the same levels that it was at the end of last summer, which seems slightly incongruous.
Even more enlightening may be the , which is seen falling to 88.2.
