The Dow is fresh off its worst quarter ever
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are starting off April on the wrong foot,eyeing an almost 800-point drop this morning. Fresh off its worst quarter ever,the blue-chip index is facing particularly stiff coronavirus headwinds today, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Americans yesterday to get ready for a "very painful two weeks." Futures on the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are also sharply below fair value, as investors unpack rumors of additional stimulus measures from the U.S. government.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
25 stocks to avoid this month. How to use the VIX to read the stock market, according to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Plus, Verizon stock's a "Conviction Buy"; retailer sent to small-cap index; and U.K. bank stocks cancel dividends.Markets in Asia receded back into the red on Wednesday. The Nikkei in Japan saw the biggest drop, down 4.5% after the big manufacturer's index in the Bank of Japan's Takan March 2020 came in at -8 for the first quarter - its lowest level since March 2013 - though the reading still came in atop analysts' expectations. Over in China, traders digested the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for March, which also topped estimates and was higher than last month's reading. In response, the country's Shanghai Composite shed 0.6%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.2%, and the Kospi in South Korea took a 3.9% haircut.
European markets are spiraling midday as traders comb over President Trump's disparaging comments during last night's press conference. The London FTSE 100 is off 3.7%, the French CAC 40 is off 4.1% and the Frankfurt DAX is down 3.9%.