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* Data shows employers cut 701,000 jobs last month
* Disney slips 3% as it furloughs some employees
* Morgan Stanley expects U.S. real GDP to plunge 38% in Q2
* Indexes down: Dow 1.69%, S&P 1.51%, Nasdaq 1.53%
(Updates to close, adds commentary)
By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes
fell more than 1.5% on Friday as the coronavirus abruptly ended
a record U.S. job growth streak of 113 months, intensifying
fears of a deep economic slowdown.
Even the loss of 701,000 jobs that Labor Department data
showed for March did not completely capture the economic damage
from the virus. The survey considered data only until mid-March,
before widespread U.S. lockdowns put more people out of work.
The worldwide spread of the virus has forced billions of
people to stay indoors and pushed entire sectors to the brink of
collapse, triggering mass layoffs and dramatic steps by
companies to raise cash.
"Even as investors may be bracing for some grim economic
reports over the next several weeks, we got a very sober
reminder of what is to come by way of today's jobs report,"
said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney
Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
Investors were also anxious heading into the weekend due to
the possibility for "particularly ugly" weekend news on
coronavirus case counts or new hot spots around the country,
Luschini said.
The S&P 500 closed down almost 27% from its mid-February
record high close, or about $7 trillion in market value, and
economists have cut their forecasts for U.S. GDP, with Morgan
Stanley now predicting a 38% contraction in the second quarter.
"This is not like December 2018. We're not likely to see a V
shaped recovery because we haven't even begun to really tackle
the main issue behind why this is happening. That's still an
ongoing process. It's going to take time," said Mike Turvey, TD
Ameritrade's institutional senior trading strategist
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 360.91 points,
or 1.69%, to 21,052.53, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 38.25 points, or
1.51%, to 2,488.65 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
114.23 points, or 1.53%, to 7,373.08.
Of the S&P 500's 11 major sectors utilities .SPLRCU was
the biggest laggard, down 3.6%, followed by materials .SPLRCM
and financials .SPSY , with declines of more than 2%.
Only consumer staples .SPLRCS rose and ended the day up
0.5% as the sector is seen as a defensive play, with consumers
still needing to eat and buy household goods in a recession.
The energy sector .SPNY was one of the best performers.
U.S. President Trump met with U.S. oil company executives at
the White House and said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
and Russian President Vladimir Putin both want something to
happen to stabilize the global oil market, where prices have
fallen by about two-thirds this year. Walt Disney Co DIS.N shares fell 3% after it said it would
furlough some U.S. employees this month, while sources said
luxury retailer Neiman Marcus was stepping up preparations to
seek bankruptcy protection. Raytheon Technologies Corp RTX.N , formed by the merger of
United Technologies and Raytheon Co, shed 7.75% as it pulled its
2020 outlook for its aerospace units.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose 5.6% after the electric-car maker
said production and deliveries of its Model Y sport utility
vehicle were ahead of schedule. On U.S. exchanges 11.57 billion shares changed hands
compared with the 15.75 billion average for the last 20
sessions.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
3.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.73-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 11 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 5 new highs and 179 new lows.
The Cboe Volatility Index .VIX , widely known as "Wall
Street's fear gauge," ended at 46.80, its lowest closing level
since March 6.
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End of a historic jobs boom IMAGE https://reut.rs/3bOR5Lb
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