Stock Market closed at a disadvantage last Friday, May 1, 2020, as corporate earnings revealed more damage due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of the opening bell, the S&P 500 index was down 59.5 points or 2.05%. Dow and NASDAQ Futures were also down at 461.00 points or 1.90% and 229.00 points or 2.55%, respectively.
Major Headlines
Amazon warned that its operating income would come down negative to forecasted value of $1.5 billion due to the expected $4 billion coronavirus-related costs.
Apple closed Friday’s session lower by 3.2% as the company declined to release growth outlook — the first time in many years — due to uncertainty over the pandemic.
Oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron posted weaker results as the collapse in oil prices, new OPEC+ deal, shortages in oil storage infrastructure, and economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic take its toll on oil and gas corporations.
The S&P 500 closed April with its best monthly gain at a total of 12.68%, which is 14% off from its February record-high return and 10% plummet year to date.
The April Markt U.S. Manufacturing PMI sinks from 48.5 to 36.1 — the lowest since March 2009. The manufacturing output also sees a record decline from 46.5 (March) to 28.8 (April). PMI readings show that the neutral level of 50 represents contraction in a sector and below 50 indicates no change.
Closing Results
The three major indices closed trading at a low point to kick off May. S&P 500 settled at negative 81.72 points or -2.81%, while Dow and NASDAQ rallied at negative 622.03 points (-2.55%) and negative 284.6 points (-3.2%), respectively.
