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Good morning, Bull Sheeters. You can take a breath now. Yesterday was one of the worst sessions in years, with the Dow falling by more than 1,000 points. Today, however, the markets appear to be bouncing back. We’re a long way from clawing back yesterday’s losses, but at least the markets have found a floor. For now.
What’s moving these jittery markets? Let’s take a look.
Markets update
Asia is mixed as I type. Europe was in positive territory this morning at the open, before dipping lower mid-morning, led down by coronavirus-stricken Italy.
U.S. futures though are all pointing higher after yesterday’s monster sell-off, which wiped out all of 2020’s gains. So, for you buy-and-hold investors, your portfolio tally should look about as it did on New Year’s Day, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Elsewhere, the dollar is down slightly. Crude is flat. The moves are modest all around. For now.
It doesn’t require much digging, however, to find evidence of companies with bleak outlooks. Yesterday, Mastercard cut its revenue forecast. The problem: people aren’t going out and spending. Apple‘s iPhone sales in China fell 28% month-on-month in January, and analysts warn February will be worse.
Coronavirus is still exacting a huge economic, markets and human toll. The number of cases has topped 80,000, including 893 in South Korea and 229 here in Italy. Still, the World Health Organization says it’s not yet a pandemic.
There are a lot of grim stats being thrown around after yesterday’s carnage in the markets. Europe had its worst sell-off since 2016 and one of the worst trading sessions since the 2008-09 financial crisis. The U.S. markets had their worst day in two years.
As I pointed out yesterday morning, airlines and travel and leisure suffered some of the biggest share-drops. As we’ve noted here on Bull Sheet before, these sectors are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus shocks.
The assumption is a canceled booking is lost for good. It’s unlikely to be recouped down the road. At least that’s how the markets are treating it, as today’s chart shows.
Turbulence ahead
***
Let me start here with some good news. Ryanair, one of the biggest losers in Europe yesterday (Italy is a key market for the low-cost airline), is inching up by more than 1% this morning. That’s after it fell nearly 14% yesterday (see chart). That was only slightly better than rival EasyJet. The cruise sector too had another abysmal day, way underperforming the broader markets.
One stock that didn’t even make this chart is United Airlines, which fell a mere 3.2% yesterday. After the close yesterday it announced something unusual: it’s pulling its 2020 bottom-line forecast. The year-ahead is just too uncertain at the moment.
Lack of clarity. That’s going to be a big theme in the coming weeks. As companies come to grips with their coronavirus exposure, revisions will be the order of the day.
And that’s it for me today. Happy trading, everyone.
Bernhard Warner
@BernhardWarner
Bernhard.Warner@Fortune.com
Today's reads
Billions and billions lost. It wasn’t a good day for the world’s 500 richest people, who lost a combined $139 billion in Monday’s market rout. Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury-goods maker LVMH, and Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos led the declines, each losing more than $4.8 billion. Amancio Ortega, chief executive of fashion retailer Zara’s parent company Inditex, tumbled $4 billion, and the fortunes of everyone else in the top 10 slid by at least $2.3 billion, Bloomberg reports.
Record streak ends. The world’s longest bull run ended amid Monday’s market turmoil. Malaysia's benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index had dropped 2.69% by market close, as political upheaval wreaked confusion in the stock market, writes Fortune’s Naomi Xu Elegant. The dip extended the market's drop from its April 2018 peak to 21%, concluding a 12-year streak in which the country's stock market went longer than any others without a 20% correction.
Fintech's finest hour. It hasn't been a bad week for everyone. Revolut announced it's scored a $500 million funding round, valuing the London-based fintech firm at $5.5 billion. The money will be used to expand further across Europe, and push further into lending. Its push into the U.S. market has been more gradual than first planned, but a wider launch there is planned for this year.
Market candy
And now for the winners. Every cloud has a silver lining. And Monday’s market carnage was no exception. A number of small U.S. health and biotech stocks did well, led by NanoViricides Inc (up 38%), which is working on a treatment for coronavirus. Another winner was Clorox Co. Shares in the maker of bleach and household cleaners, in strong demand because of the outbreak, rose 1.6%. The cancellation of conferences and travel restrictions are driving demand for video conferencing, sending Zoom Video Communications’ shares up 3.2%. Shares in home exercise bike company Peloton rose 4% as investors bet people might not be able to get to the gym.
