By Alex Eule
| Friday, March 27
The Long Wait. After
the best three-day rally in 89 years, stocks couldn't hold their momentum.
The S&P 500 finished Friday down 3.4%, even as
Congress approved its $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package and
President Donald Trump signed the bill into law. By the time it
happened, investors had moved on. Now, there's almost 66 hours before markets
re-open, and investors are clearly nervous about what could transpire over the
weekend and into next week.
But before we
go there, it's worth wrapping up a turbulent five days: There was a
bull market born in just three days; there was a
stimulus package that was unimaginable until a few weeks
ago, and it ultimately passed with complete bipartisan support;
there was the Federal Reserve chairman promising to do whatever was needed to
keep the economy afloat; and there were at least 47,000 new Covid-19 cases
identified in the U.S. That list barely scrapes the surface.
Perhaps the
most stunning stock story of the week came from Boeing. The
beleaguered aircraft maker finished the week up 71%. My colleagues in
the Dow Jones data group sent that number along tonight, noting
it "isn't a typo." Boeing investors drew hope
from the stimulus bill and news that production of its 737
MAX jet could be restarting in a couple months. Barron's Al Root runs down all the reasons for Boeing's
big week.
In the end,
the S&P 500 finished the week up 10.3%. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average gained 12.8%, and the Nasdaq
Composite rose 9.1%.
As for next week, a new wave
of earnings could shed more light on our socially-distanced economy, plus we'll
get new data on jobs and consumer confidence. Until then, take a deep breath,
don't think too much about stocks, and stay healthy.
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