Finally, a Flat Day

By Alex Eule |  Thursday, March 19

And on the Ninth Day... After posting eight consecutive days of 4%-plus moves, the S&P 500 finally took a rest. The index finished Thursday up just half a percentage point. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a relatively calm day, as well, up only 188 points, or 0.95%. 

That's not to say it wasn't an eventful trading session. From the low at 9:41 a.m. to the high at 2:44 p.m., the Dow still swung 1,266 points. There was, in fact, a major rally for much of the day, it just didn't show up in the closing numbers. 

There was no calm in energy markets, though. The price of oil soared 24% --- the largest gain on record -- after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the government could buy between $10 billion and $20 billion worth of oil. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Trump administration may lean on Saudi Arabia and Russia to halt their feud over oil production, which is flooding the market with supplies and causing prices to tumble. Even after today's rally, oil prices are still down 60% from their January high. 

The collapse in oil prices has been a complicating factor for markets already reeling from coronavirus. 

Europe and the U.S. continued their push for stimulus to blunt the economic damage from the pandemic. Last night, the European Central Bank announced a 750 billion euro plan to buy a range of public and private-sector securities. The Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, or PEPP, was cheered by European investors. The STOXX Europe 600, a collection of stocks across 17 countries, jumped 2.9%, its best day since October.

In the U.S., meanwhile, attention turned to a stimulus bill that could top $1 trillion and pass Congress as early as next week. The Federal Reserve remains busy, as well, trying to shore up markets. Late last night, the Fed announced a plan to protect nearly $4 trillion held in money-market funds. 

New coronavirus cases continue to mount in the U.S. and world-wide, but there was one piece of good news today. China reported no new locally transmitted cases of the disease -- that's a first since the outbreak began more than three months ago.