Stock market live Monday: Dow down 1%, Nasdaq green, Netflix surges

Tech stocks drove the Nasdaq Composite to a slight gain on Monday, but the S&P 500 and Dow fell, surrendering some of their historic rallies from last week. The Dow’s losses were concentrated in names like Caterpillar, which slid after an analyst downgraded the stock. S&P 500 losses were led by real estate investment trusts and financials.

• Nasdaq closed up 0.48% for its 3rd straight positive day for the first time since Feb. 19 and its 3-day win streak.
• Nasdaq is now down 8.7% year-to-date on pace for its worst year since 2008 when the Nasdaq lost 40.54%.
• Nasdaq 100 closed up 1.14% for its 3rd straight positive day outpacing the broader market with Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Netflix contributing double digit gains to the index.
• Nasdaq is 16.7% from its intraday all-time high of 9,838.37 from Feb. 19.
• S&P closed down 1.01% for its 1st negative day in 3 and worst day since Apr 3rd when the S&P lost 1.51%.
• S&P is down 14.52% year-to-date on pace for its worst year since 2008 when the S&P lost 38.49%.
• S&P is 18.62% below its intraday all-time high of 3,393.52 from Feb. 19.
• 11 out of 11 sectors are negative year-to-date led by Energy down 43.36% year-to-date and on pace for its worst year ever back to its inception in 1989.
• The least negative sector YTD is Tech down 6.76% year-to-date. — Francolla

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell on Monday, a handful of tech stocks ended the day in the green. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite ended up the day up about 0.5%, fueled by Netflix’s gain of 7%. E-commerce giant Amazon rallied about 6.2%. Intel ticked 2.7% higher and chip stock Advanced Micro Devices jumped 5.3%. Google parent Alphabet ended the day up 0.3%. – Fitzgerald

Strong days from Netflix and Amazon helped the Nasdaq Composite rise 0.5% for its third straight positive day. The Dow and S&P 500 slipped 1.4% and 1%, respectively, for their first day of losses since last Tuesday. The Dow finished down about 325 points, cutting its losses from midday roughly in half as stocks rose into the close. — Pound

The Nasdaq Composite broke into positive territory late in the trading day, rising 0.4% above last week’s close. Big days from Amazon, which is up 6.7%, and Netflix, which is up more than 7%, helped the index outpace the Dow and S&P 500. Those indexes have fallen 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively. — Pound

Gold settled 0.49% higher at $1,761.4 per ounce, but reached as high as $1,769.5 intraday as investors rushed to safety to hit its highest level since Oct 12, 2012 when gold traded as high as 1,775. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miner ETF also surged 5.9% on Monday. Gold is up more than 15% so far in 2020. — Francolla, Pound

With roughly one hour left in the trading session, the major averages were headed for their first decline in three sessions. The Dow traded more than 1.8% lower, or 450 points, while the S&P 500 slid 1.6%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3%. Monday’s losses come after the averages had massive gains last week. The Dow posted its seventh-biggest weekly gain on record. The S&P 500 has its best one-week rally since 1974. — Imbert

Oil prices fell on Monday as oversupply concerns continue to pressure prices, even as OPEC and its allies agreeing to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day. The deal, which was finalized on Sunday after marathon discussions that spanned four days, is the single largest output cut in history. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.54% to settle at $22.41 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude rose 33 cents to $31.81 per barrel. Earlier in the session WTI had been up as much as 8%. “It’s simply too late to prevent a super-large inventory build of over one billion barrels between mid-March and late May and to stop spot prices from falling into single digits,” Ed Morse, Citi’s global head of commodities, said in a note to clients Sunday. –Stevens

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman said he thinks the U.S. government should extend financial assistance to companies severely hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. Cooperman was responding to viral comments made by venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. “If the government lets all these companies go bankrupt and they do disgorge labor, the government is going to have to basically pay a lot of unemployment benefits,” Cooperman said on CNBC’s “Fast Money Halftime Report.” Cooperman said he believes previous government rescues of AIG and Chrysler demonstrated the benefit of offering assistance this time around. — Stankiewicz

Stocks can reclaim their record highs by early next year thanks to the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented commitment to help the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis, according to Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan’s global head of macro quantitative and derivatives strategy. “We believe that the Fed’s action last Thursday represents a pivotal moment in this crisis,” Kolanovic said. “This reinforces our view of a full asset price recovery, and equity markets reaching all-time highs next year, likely by H1. We believe the significance of this development is underestimated by markets.” The Fed announced a slew of new programs Thursday aimed at lending out as much as $2.3 trillion to businesses and governments. – Li

Shares of Netflix and Amazon rose on Monday as stay at home stocks joined energy names as the winners to start the week. The streaming video company rose about 6% while Amazon gained 4.7%. Netflix hit a new 52-week high during the session for the first time since March 3. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was holding up the best of the major indexes on Monday, down about 0.5% around midday. — Pound, Francolla

Around midday, the major averages fell broadly as Wall Street took a breather following the market’s massive rally last week. The Dow was down about 400 points, or more than 1.5%. The S&P 500 was down 1.4% while the Nasdaq slid 0.4%. Caterpillar was the worst-performing stock in the Dow, falling more than 8%. — Imbert

• Bank of America upgraded FedEx to buy from neutral.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Dunkin’ Brands to outperform from underperform.
• Rosenblatt upgraded Palo Alto Networks to buy from neutral.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Charter to overweight from equal weight.
• Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate to outperform from in line.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Liberty Formula One to equal weight from overweight.
• Susquehanna upgraded D.R. Horton to positive from neutral.
• Bank of America downgraded Caterpillar to underperform from neutral.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Micron to neutral from buy.
• Baird downgraded Deere to neutral from outperform.
• Leerink initiated Teladoc as outperform. — Bloom

New York saw a day-over-day decline in coronavirus deaths and hospital statistics show that the state appears to be hitting a “plateau,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. There were 671 deaths on Sunday after several consecutive days of more than 700 deaths. The state now has more than 10,000 deaths due to the virus. — Pound

Oil prices rose on Monday one day after OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, reached a deal to curb output by 9.7 million barrels per day beginning on May 1. The deal – the largest output cut in history – is an attempt to prop up prices as the coronavirus pandemic continues to sap demand for crude. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to trade at $23.24, after earlier trading as much as 8% higher. International benchmark Brent crude rose 1.6% to $31.98. – Stevens

SCWorx shares rocketed more than 225% on Monday after the company said a health-care network has agreed to purchase some 48 million COVID-19 rapid testing kits over the next several weeks. The tests, purchased by Rethink My Healthcare, analyze blood for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies. “Widespread testing for COVID-19 disease in the United States is absolutely critical for saving lives and reopening our economy,” Marc Schessel, CEO of SCWorx, said in a press release. “Our substantial purchase order from Rethink My Healthcare will significantly increase the availability of rapid-test kits in the United States.” — Franck

The sell-off that began at the opening of trading on Monday accelerated about one hour into the session with the Dow down more than 500 points and the S&P 500 down 2%. Real estate investment trusts and financials continued to drag on the major indexes with J.P. Morgan down 2.75% and American Express shaving 36 points off the Dow with a slide of 5.5%. Energy, supported by the aforementioned production deal between OPEC and its allies, remained the only sector trading positive. Gold traded down 0.6% and West Texas futures rose 2.55%. — Franck

Shares Ford fell more than 4% on Monday after the automaker warned that the economic fallout from the coronavirus has significantly impacted its first-quarter performance. Ford said total revenue for the first quarter is expected to be about $34 billion, down from $40.3 billion a year ago. The automaker added that it couldn’t yet provide an accurate estimate of its earnings, telling investors it expects a pre-tax loss of at least $600 million, excluding $300 million in special items. The automaker’s stock is down about 45% this year.— Fitzgerald 

Walmart executive Jamie Iannone has been chosen as the new CEO of eBay, the e-commerce company announced Monday. Iannone is currently the chief operating officer of Walmart’s e-commerce division. Iannone, who previously worked at eBay from 2001 to 2009, will officially take over on April 27. Shares of eBay rose 2.4% in early trading. The stock is down about 6% for the year. — Pound

Stocks fell to start Monday’s session as slides in real estate investment trusts and financials pushed the S&P 500 down 1.1%. Dow industrials fell 300 points within the first 15 minutes of trading as declines in Caterpillar and Home Depot offset gains in Walmart, Boeing and Apple. The declines to start the week follow strong gains for the major indexes in the prior week, when the Dow posted its seventh-best weekly performance and rallied 12.7%; the S&P 500 had its biggest one-week gain since 1974 last week and jumped 12.1%. — Franck

Morgan Stanley lifted its year-end S&P 500 target following the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented measures to prop up the coronavirus-ravaged economy. The firm’s base case is for the S&P 500 to end the year at 3,000, which is roughly 8% higher than where the benchmark currently trades. “This salvo from the Fed far surpassed expectations in terms of size and scope,” Morgan Stanley’s equity strategist Mike Wilson wrote in a note to clients Monday, referring to the Fed’s announced $2.3 trillion in loan support. “Investors should not have any doubts about the Fed’s resolve to do whatever it takes to make sure this recession doesn’t turn into a depression,” he added. Wilson’s bear case target for the S&P 500 is 2,500, while his bull case sees the index hitting 3,250. — Stevens

Goldman Sachs acknowledged that its call for a deeper sell-off is “no longer likely” as it underestimated the unprecedented policy actions to offset the coronavirus impact. The bank said the stock market has likely bottomed and the firm is pricing in a “sharp” economic recovery. Goldman previously predicted the S&P 500 would trough at 2,000 mid-year. “If the US does not experience a second surge in infections after the economy reopens, the ‘do whatever it takes’ stance of policymakers means the equity market is unlikely to make new lows,” David Kostin, Goldman’s chief U.S. equity strategist, said in a note on Monday. – Li

Shares of American, Delta and United Airlines all jumped about 4% in premarket trading on Monday on optimism that the coronavirus is stabilizing. Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday he was cautiously optimistic that the outbreak was slowing down in the U.S. and parts of the country may start to reopen next month. Two weeks ago, Congress approved $50 billion in loans and grants for U.S. passenger airlines in the coronavirus relief legislation. Still, shares of American, Delta and United Airlines are down more than 50% this year. – Li

Investors should be wary of buying into the market after the recent rally because of unknowns about the economy, Citi strategist Tobias Levkovic said in a note to clients. Levkovic wrote that a rise in cash positions during March likely helped fuel the recent rally, but that an expected string of bad economic data and earnings could now pull stocks back down.

“We are thrilled by the data flattening on hospitalizations and the pickup in recoveries, but there is significant commercial and industrial sector plus employment damage to repair as well,” Levkovic said. — Pound, Bloom

Shares of shipping company FedEx rose nearly 2% in premarket trading on Monday following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Bank of America. The firm said Amazon dropping its partnership shows how difficult the third-party shipping process can be. “We believe the recent decision by Amazon to pause its Shipping with Amazon (SWA) third-party delivery business highlights the difficultly to efficiently enter the business,” research analyst Ken Hoexter said. The firm also raised its price target to $140 from $117 per share. Bank of America noted that FedEx maintains ample liquidity, as the company raised $3.0 billion in cash to preserve flexibility. — Fitzgerald

Energy stocks moved higher in Monday’s premarket trading after OPEC and its oil-producing allies agreed to cut production by a record 9.7 million barrels per day. Traders are hoping that the cut will help tackle the supply glut in the market as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer demand. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), which tracks the sector, gained 2.5%. Occidental Petroleum, Marathon Petroleum, Devon Energy and Diamondback Energy all jumped more than 5%. Exxon and Chevron, the U.S.’ largest oil companies, rose 3% and 2.2%, respectively. – Stevens

An analyst at BofA Securities downgraded Caterpillar to underperform from neutral, citing the construction giant’s exposure to the energy sector. “CAT derives only 10% of revenue directly from oil and gas, but its Construction and Mining products touch the energy sector in many places too,” analyst Ross Gilardi said in a note to clients. Caterpillar’s stock dropped more than 2% in the permarket after Gilardi’s downgrade. — Imbert, Bloom

There are now more than 1.8 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world, including  more than 557,590 in the United States. However, Spain — one of Europe’s hardest hit countries — reported improving numbers. The country reported 517 deaths in one day, down from 619 previously. Spain has lifted some of its lockdown measures, sending construction and factory workers back to work. — Pound 

U.S. stock index futures pointed to losses at the open as markets struggled to hold onto last week’s gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was set to open 133 points lower for a loss of 0.56%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were slated to drop 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Earlier in the session stock futures had been positive following a historic agreement between OPEC and its oil-producing allies to take 9.7 million barrels per day off the market. Oil was trading flat.

The S&P 500 is coming off its best week since 1974 as investors cheered an apparent improvement in the U.S.’ coronavirus outlook along with massive stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve. Small cap stocks outperformed the broader market last week with the Russell 2000 rising 18.5% for its best week ever. But the S&P 500 is still 18% below its February all-time high, however, while the Dow is roughly 20% below its peak. – Stevens

– CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald, Yun Li, Thomas Franck and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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