The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,917.16 on Tuesday with a loss of 410.32 points or -1.84%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,584.59 for a loss of 42.06 points or -1.60%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 7,700.10 for a loss of 74.05 points or -0.95%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 53.26 for a loss of 3.82 points or -6.69%.
For the month of March, the Nasdaq was down 10.1%, the S&P 500 fell 12.5% and the Dow Jones had a return of 13.7%. For the quarter, the Nasdaq was down 14.2%, the S&P 500 was down 20% and the Dow Jones returned 23.2%.
Tuesday’s market movers
Stocks ended lower on the last day of the month. Investors watched coronavirus cases continue to rise and also looked ahead to the employment report later this week. Cases in the U.S. increased by approximately 20,000 Monday, with New York’s count increasing to over 75,000.
Losses for the day were pared by a strong Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report from China. The China PMI increased to 52.0 in March from 35.7 in February. Energy and infrastructure also got a boost Tuesday. The Trump administration said it had agreed to talks with Russia on solutions for helping oil prices and the energy markets. President Trump also pitched an infrastructure bill as part of Covid-19 relief efforts, which he said would help companies take advantage of the market’s low borrowing rates.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was unchanged in January. Year over year, the Index increased 3.1%.
- The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index decreased to 47.8 in March from 49.
- The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased to 120 in March from 132.6.
In the S&P 500, real estate and utilities led losses. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- American Express (AXP, Financial) -5.26%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) -4.34%
- Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) -4.07%
- JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) -3.85%
- United Technologies (UTX, Financial) -3.78%
- Intel (INTC, Financial) -3.54%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,153.10 for a loss of 5.21 points or -0.45%. The S&P 600 closed at 684.84 for a loss of 0.48 points or -0.070%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 7,682.11 for a loss of 58.54 points or -0.76%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 5,863.27 for a loss of 40.98 points or -0.69%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,443.40 for a loss of 15.75 points or -1.08%; the S&P 100 at 1,187.48 for a loss of 16.66 points or -1.38%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,813.50 for a loss of 75.51 points or -0.96%; the Russell 3000 at 1,489.57 for a loss of 22.81 points or -1.51%; the Russell 1000 at 1,416.49 for a loss of 22.63 points or -1.57%; the Wilshire 5000 at 26,042.68 for a loss of 400.03 points or -1.51%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 527.78 for a loss of 13.10 points or -2.42%.
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