Stock market live Monday: Dow sinks 580 points, virus bill stalls in Senate, Tepper ‘nibbles’

It was another tumultuous day on Wall Street. Here’s what happened:

With the bear market picking up steam with Monday’s 3% slide, the Dow is nearing the completion of its worst month of trading since 1931. The blue-chip index, down 26.8% for the month of March, is on pace to notch its worst calendar month since September 1931, when it fell 30.7%.

The only positive sector on Monday was consumer discretionary as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Wynn and Hasbro all rose double digits. Energy led the losses during the session and closed 64.31 below its April 23, 52-week high of 507.26. Cotton futures hit a low of 50.68, their lowest since April 2009. The U.S. dollar index was last down 0.27%, on pace for its first negative day in five. — Franck, Francolla

The major equity indexes finished the day firmly in negative territory but well off the lows of the session as a deluge of Federal Reserve action partially offset disappointment that the Senate failed to pass its fiscal stimulus. The Dow finished down 582 points, or 3%, and remains more than 37% off it intraday and closing highs. The S&P 500 fell 2.9% as energy and financials led the index to close lower at 2,237; the index is down 34% from its record close. The Nasdaq Composite slipped just 0.27% to 6,860. — Franck

With roughly one hour left in the trading session, the major averages were headed for more losses after Senate lawmakers failed to push a fiscal stimulus package through a key hurdle. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded more than 600 points lower, or 3.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Monday’s losses put the Dow 37% below last month’s record high. —Imbert

The major stock indexes drifted back toward their session lows after the Senate failed to pass a landmark COVID-19 stimulus bill, a potential economic boost investors had hoped would come on Monday. The Dow was last seen down 500 points, or 2.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were down 2.5% and 0.45%, respectively. Still, each index remained well off their session lows that saw both the Dow and the S&P 500 down about 5%. 

The attached chart shows that the S&P 500 is now negative since President Donald Trump’s election in November 2016.

— Franck, Francolla

Nike, Macy’s and Vineyard Vines are just a few of the companies currently offering decent deals online, to try to stir up some sales as their stores sit dark. Many retailers are also throwing in free shipping — if they did not already offer it — and extending the window of time you have to make a return, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. But even with a 25% or 30% coupon sitting in their email inboxes, most consumers are not looking for a new pair of shoes right now. “You can discount in a demand-weak environment, but it doesn’t matter,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData retail. — Thomas

The coronavirus relief package again failed to clear the first procedural hurdle in the Senate. The bill needs 60 senators to approve this step to move forward. Several GOP senators are not able to vote because they are self-isolating after Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tested positive for coronavirus. Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin said Monday morning that he wanted the stimulus package to be agreed to by the end of the day. — Pound

Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper said President Donald Trump must order U.S. industrial companies like General Motors to start mass producing ventilators if he wants to get the economy on a path to restarting again. That way, Tepper explained, those already sick from coronavirus can get help and healthy people can feel confident they will get the care they need if they do fall ill. “We have to get the medical piece right to, you know get the equipment, the ventilators mass produced,” the founder of Appaloosa Management said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Monday. “Whatever it takes to get produced that’s what they should do. That’s the first step.” I’d like to hear [General Motors CEO] Mary Barra and GM tell me when the ventilators are coming off the line,” said Tepper. Tepper said if he were president he would be using the war powers act to get some of this equipment made. – Fitzgerald

The International Monetary Fund said Monday it expects the coronavirus pandemic to cause a global recession in 2020. The downturn would be as bad as the one during the financial crisis in 2008 or ever worse, the IMF said, adding the world economy will start recovering in 2021. More efforts will be needed, especially on the fiscal front, the IMF added. — Li

The battered and bruised corporate bond market got a boost Monday with news that the Federal Reserve for first time will be buying company debt. An ETF that tracks the sector, the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond fund, jumped 5.6% even as other aspects of the financial markets were getting crushed. As part of a broader and much more aggressive move to help markets, the Fed said it would be buying investment-grade corporate bonds and ETFs, a market that has all but frozen during the coronavirus crisis. – Cox

Billionaire investor David Tepper said he is cautiously buying some stocks, particularly in the tech sector, as the broader market tumbles amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, he noted the relentless selling may have further to go. “I’m nibbling right now, for what it’s worth,” Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa Management, told CNBC’s Scott Wapner on “Halftime Report.” Tepper noted he is adding to his positions in tech giants such as Amazon, Google-parent Alphabet and Alibaba as well as chipmaker Micron Technology. Tepper also said he’s buying some health care stocks. “Things look really interesting for the long term.”  — Imbert

Bank of America upgraded shares of Chevron to a buy rating on Monday based on the oil giant’s balance sheet. “CVX has one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector to navigate current volatility and portfolio oil leverage to exploit the forward curve,” the firm wrote in a note to clients. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices have been cut in half the last month as oil takes a hit on both the demand and supply side. Bank of America said it has “no interest in calling a floor” on how low prices can go, but noted that there are now some “relative dislocations in value,” including for Chevron. The firm did, however, lower its target on the stock to $65 from $84. The new target is 20% above where the stock currently trades. Shares of Chevron have fallen 50% in the last month. – Stevens

Stocks pared steep losses in midday trading after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Congress is “very close” to reaching a stimulus deal to rescue the economy from the coronavirus impact. The Dow last traded about 600 points lower, after dropping 960 points at its session low. —Li 

The Dow‘s steep drop on Monday pushed the 30-stock index below the level where it closed on Nov. 8, 2016, the day Trump won the 2016 election over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Dow Industrials fell 841.24 points, or 4.39%, to trade below its close on Election Day 2016 at 18,332.74. The sell-off on the week’s first day of trading put the index down more than 38% from its all-time high notched in February. —Franck

New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham said on “Squawk on the Street” that having traders on the floor is a “premium offering” for exchange clients and that she plans on opening the floor again once the coronavirus threat has passed. Cunningham also said the stock market should stay open during the crisis. “Right now, people are being stressed, and many of them need access to those dollars in the short term because of the trials that they are undergoing right now. We can’t take that access away from them,” Cunningham said. — Pound

Orange Juice Futures hit a high of 111, their highest level since June 4^, when OJ futures hit a high of 112.60. Orange juice is a good source of vitamin C amid this global pandemic. —Francolla

Cotton futures fell on Monday to their lowest level since April 2009, hitting a low of $50.68 per pound. The tumble takes place as most retailers around the world shut down, decreasing demand for clothes and, in turn, cotton. —Imbert, Francolla

• Goldman Sachs upgraded Boeing to buy from neutral.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Colgate-Palmolive and Pepsi to overweight from equal weight.
• JPMorgan upgraded Coca-Cola to overweight from neutral.
• Cowen downgraded AT&T to market perform from outperform.
• MKM downgraded Starbucks to neutral from buy.
• Piper Sandler upgraded CyberArk and Palo Alto Networks to overweight from neutral.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Honeywell to equal weight from overweight.
• Baird upgraded Netflix to outperform from neutral.
• SocGen downgraded AbbVie to hold from buy.
• JPMorgan added Dollar General to the focus list.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Carnival Corp. to underweight from overweight.
• Bank of America upgraded Southwest Airlines to buy from neutral.
• Bank of America upgraded Charles Schwab to buy from neutral.
• Needham upgraded Lululemon to buy from hold. — Bloom

Stock losses accelerated back toward session lows. The Dow lost about 740 points, the S&P 500 fell 3.5% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.4%. — Fitzgerald 

Hasbro stock was soaring Monday morning after CEO Brian Goldner said the company was experiencing strong demand during the coronavirus pandemic. “Overall we are seeing great demand in our products,” Goldner said on “Squawk Box.” “In fact, our supply chains are back up and running in China,” he added. Shares of Hasbro were up more than 17% on Monday to around $54 per share. The stock was trading above $100 per share in early February. — Stankiewicz, Pound

Zoom Video rose almost 18% in morning trading, hitting a new intraday all-time high and on pace for its 6th straight positive day and its best day since June 7th. The video conferencing company went public on April 18, 2019 at $36 per share and is up over 327% from its IPO price. The company’s remote working tools have made it a favorite of investors as workers stay home during the pandemic. — Francolla, Pound

A series of tweets on Sunday, as well as multiple administration sources, revealed President Donald Trump’s fears about economic damage from the coronavirus shutdown. In several posts, the president suggested that he was looking to ease the coronavirus-related guidelines that the White House imposed last week for a 15-day period that will end next Tuesday. “WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,” Trump wrote in a tweet posted near midnight on Sunday. “AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!”  Investors worried Trump’s tweet may indicate the president is weighing sending the country back to work before the health system has a handle on the pandemic, leading to greater long-term economic damage.

After the initial all-caps message, the president retweeted a number of accounts suggesting that future guidelines from the White House will call for isolating high-risk groups only. NBC reported that creating a separate set of rules and restrictions for the hardest-hit states – notably, CA, NY, and WA – while allowing other states to return to business is a possibility. — Fitzgerald, Higgins 

Following the coronavirus-induced sell-off, Apple is no longer part of the trillion dollar club. Shares have slid 28% in the last month, cutting the tech giant’s valuation to just over $981 billion. Apple was the first U.S. company to top the $1 trillion mark, hitting that milestone in August of 2018. Amazon, Microsoft and Google parent-company Alphabet all later topped $1 trillion, although Microsoft is the only one still worth more than $1 trillion. That said, amid the broad market sell-off, all four names have held up better than the S&P 500. – Stevens, Bursztynsky

The Nasdaq Composite erased early losses and traded in the positive territory in morning trading, as gains in big tech companies including Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Facebook dragged the tech-heavy index higher. Netflix, a popular stay-at-home bet, jumped 5.6%, leading the advance in the so-called FANG stocks. —Li

The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is up almost 1.6%, on pace for its second positive day in three. The advance was led by a 9% gain in Microchip stock and a 6% rise in ON Semiconductor.  —Francolla

Stocks continued their roller coaster pattern on Monday, with the Dow down more than 200 points. Stock futures originally pointed to a 900 point decline, then implied a positive open, and are now back down in morning trading. — Fitzgerald 

The three major averages fell on Monday despite the Federal Reserve announcing limitless asset purchases, which originally lifted stock futures.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 350 points after the opening bell. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipped 1.7% and 0.15%, respectively. Investors are waiting on a government stimulus package announcement as soon as Monday. — Fitzgerald 

The coronavirus outbreak, which has halted travel and slowed business activity worldwide, has sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 tumbling into bear market territory at a record rate. “The 2020 correction continues to make history, having already claimed the title as the third fastest end to a bull market going back to 1928,” Bank of America said in a note to clients Monday. “In a little over four weeks since the February 19 peak, 22 trading days, the S&P 500 (SPX) has sold off 30% on a daily closing basis, making this the fastest 30% decline in history,” the firm added. The Dow is 35% below its February all-time high level, while the S&P 500 is 32% below its high. – Stevens

The rise of cord-cutting could be compounded through the coronavirus crisis and provided a bigger boost to Netflix, according to analyst at Baird Equity Research. Shares of the entertainment screening company rose 3.4% in the premarket as Baird upgraded the company to outperform. “We expect Netflix to be a key beneficiary, with our latest checks suggesting strong Netflix adoption globally,” the firm said. – Cox

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday that a government stimulus package is imminent. “I think we’re very close. We need to get this deal done today,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday. “It is very important as you can see, Jim. We announced overnight with the Fed some very important actions supporting the asset-backed market, supporting the corporate bond market – primary and secondary,” he added. “We’re using some of the funds we have, but we need Congress to approve additional funds today so that we can move forward and support American workers and the American economy,” he added. —Franck 

Confirmed infections of the rapidly spreading coronavirus surpassed 350,000 worldwide on Monday and global deaths rose past 15,000, as COVID-19 spreads across Europe and North America. COVID-19 has now infected more than 350,536 people, according to Johns Hopkins University, and killed at least 15,328 people. More than 100,000 people of that tally have recovered, according to Hopkins. Global cases have more than doubled in the past week, according to the World Health Organization, and worldwide deaths have nearly tripled. — Feuer, Fitzgerald 

Bespoke Investment Group said the economy needs to come back to life for markets to recover. “While the Fed’s actions are an enormous help, the only way the markets are going to find sustainable improvement is when the economy is allowed to come back to life, or at least there is a real path in place for how that is going to happen,” said Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group, in a note. “Also, as we have seen repeatedly over the last month, where the market is one minute can be wildly different from where it was a few minutes before.” — Fitzgerald 

Oil prices reversed losses on Monday, rising as much as 4% after the Federal Reserve pledged aggressive asset purchases to support markets. The move higher comes after U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude posted its worst week since 1991. Oil demand has taken a hit as the coronavirus outbreak has halted business activity worldwide. Investors are hoping that the Fed’s latest announcement will put a floor on oil’s demand destruction. WTI crude futures have been cut in half this month. – Stevens

Shares of Coca-Cola gained 3.7% in premarket trading after the beverage company was upgraded from neutral to overweight by JPMorgan. The bank did cut its price target on the stock from $60 to $44 per share, about 15% above where trading closed on Friday. The bank said in a note that it expects Coca-Cola’s sales to decline by 7.8% in the second quarter but “valuation ignores potential comeback.” — Pound

Stocks reversed course after the Federal Reserve’s announcement Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures surged 550 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also pointed to gains at the open. —Fitzgerald 

The Federal Reserve said Monday it will launch a barrage of programs aimed at helping markets function more efficiently in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Among the initiatives is a commitment to continue its asset purchasing program “in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.” Others include a $300 billion lending program for Main Street businesses and the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility implemented during the financial crisis. The Fed also said it will purchase commercial mortgage-backed securities as part of an expansion in its asset purchases, known in the market as quantitative easing. Stock futures cut their losses after the Fed’s announcement.– Cox

A funding package to combat the economic impact of coronavirus did not get enough votes in a key Senate procedural vote Sunday evening, after Democratic leaders warned that the bill did too much to bail out companies and not enough to help workers. The final vote tally was 47-47, well short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, although several GOP senators were not present to vote due to coronavirus isolation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democrats would be introducing their own bill. President Trump expressed optimism that lawmakers would eventually reach a deal.

Aperture Investors founder and CEO Peter Kraus said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday that he recalls the Senate didn’t pass the first TARP bill during the financial crisis, and the market fell. “There are going to be 2 million to 3 million Americans out of work. I think there are both Republicans and Democrats in that crowd. We need to pass a bill,” said Kraus. – Fitzgerald

The Cboe Volatility Index rose about 6 points on Monday morning to break back above 70. The index, which measures the volatility implied by S&P 500 options trading, set record highs last week but closed on Friday at 66.04. — Pound

Shares of industrial conglomerate 3M rose in premarket trading after its chief executive said the company has doubled global production of N95 respirators to about 100 million a month. CEO Mike Roman said Sunday that the company expects 3M to nearly double its capacity again within the next 12 months and is coordinating with the U.S. government to explore other manufacturing, including hand sanitizers and disinfectants. “As a global company, we also manufacture respirators in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and our products are being similarly deployed to support the COVID-19 response in those respective regions,” said Roman. — Franck

Shares of Boeing climbed 2.5% in premarket trading on Monday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. plane maker to buy from neutral, saying the company has enough cash to recover and demand for air travel will return to normal once the coronavirus crisis is over.

“We think Boeing will remain a going concern,” Goldman analyst Noah Poponak said in a note on Sunday. “We think travel by flight will be as popular as ever once COVID-19 is resolved. We therefore think shares of BA should be procured at the current price … Substantial fear priced in, while long-term secular growth intact.”

Boeing’s stock plunged 70% in 2020 so far, making it the worst performing S&P 500 stock over a $50 billion in market capitalization, Goldman noted. Boeing said on Friday it will cancel CEO pay, suspend its dividend and extend a pause on share buybacks amid the pandemic. It is pursuing $60 billion in U.S. government aid for the aerospace industry, including loan guarantees. — Li

Oil prices moved lower on Monday, extending recent losses that saw U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude post its worst week since 1991. On Monday, WTI shed 1.86% to trade at $22.21 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude fell 6% to trade at $25.36 per barrel. In a volatile day of trading, WTI first dropped 6%, and then recovered those losses to turn positive, before once again moving lower.

Prices have dropped as the coronavirus outbreak has slowed worldwide travel and business activity, just as powerhouse producers Saudi Arabia and Russia prepare to ramp up production. WTI crude futures have been cut in half this month. The rapid decline in crude prices is wreaking havoc on the financial markets, forcing investors to sell other assets such as Treasuries or equities indiscriminately to cover the losses in their energy positions. — Stevens

Markets were set to decline at the open on Monday as investors wait on an economic stimulus and rescue plan from the U.S. government to combat damage from the coronavirus. A fiscal stimulus bill failed a key procedural Senate vote Sunday, sending equities downward. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped more than 500 points. S&P 500 futures were off by nearly 3%. Nasdaq 100 futures declined by 2.6%. Futures were well off their worst levels of the overnight session, where they hit their “limit down” levels, falling 5%.

Last week, stocks suffered their biggest one-week decline since the financial crisis in 2008, with the S&P 500 dropping more than 13%. Those losses put the broad market average more than 32% below its record set on Feb. 19. —Fitzgerald 

— with reporting from CNBC’s Kevin Stankiewicz, Gina Francolla, Michael Bloom, Thomas Franck, Lauren Thomas, Jesse Pound, William Feuer, Jessica Bursztynsky and Jeff Cox. 

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