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Stock Market News for Sep 30, 2020

Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday as investors remained concern about renewed spike in coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe. Moreover, market participants stayed sidelined before the first presidential debate to be held later this evening. All the three major stock indexes ended in the red.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 0.5% or 131.40 points to close at 27,452.66, reversing 3-day winning streak. Notably, 26 components of the 30-stock index ended in the red while 4 finished in green. The blue-chip index is 3.8% below to become green year to date. Moreover, the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite finished at 11,085.25, shedding 0.3% due to the weak showing by large-cap stocks, terminating 3-day winning run.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to end at 3,335.47, reversing third successive day of gains. The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) plunged 1.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Notably, ten out of eleven sectors of the benchmark index closed in negative zone and one in the green.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.3% to 26.27. A total of 8.31 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 9.99 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.53-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.07-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.

Renewed Concerns on Coronavirus

On Sep 29, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s positive rate of coronavirus tests per day has reached above 3% for the first time in months. Moreover, Texas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Colorado also witnessed a spike in COVID-19 new cases. Additionally, resurgence of coronavirus in several major European countries like the U.K., Spain and France has significantly dented investors' confidence as it will have direct impact on reopening stocks especially travel and entertainment.

Consequently, shares of major airline stocks such as JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU, American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL and Southwest Airlines Co. LUV plummeted 4.4%, 4%, 4% and 1.7%, respectively. American Airlines and United Airlines carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

First Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and his Democrat challenger former Vice-President Joe Biden will take place in Cleveland, Ohio at 9 PM ET on Sep 29. Market participants will try to find any clue regarding U.S. economic recovery, policy to control coronavirus and geopolitical issues that these two challengers will likely to implement after winning election, which is scheduled on Nov 3.

Economic Data

On Sep 29, the conference board reported that its consumer confidence index for the month of September came in at 101.8, highest in six months. The metric exceeded the consensus estimate of 89.6. Notably, consumer confidence increase in September after back-to-back monthly decline. Meanwhile, August index was also revised upward to 86.3 from 84.8 reported earlier. The index in September marked the biggest one-month jump in 17 years.

The Present Situation Index, which gauges consumers’ views on current market conditions, climbed from 85.8 in August to 98.5. Moreover, the Expectations Index, which is a measure of consumers’ short-term (for the next six months) outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, surged to 104 from 86.6 in August.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index increased to 4.8% annually in July from 4.3% in June. The 10-City Composite increase to 3.3% annually from 2.8% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite rose 3.9% annually from 3.5% in the prior month.

The Department of Commerce reported that U.S. trade deficit in goods increased 3.5% to $82.9 billion in August. Imports of goods rose 3.1% to $201.3 billion while goods exports grew 2.8% to $118.3 billion.

Stocks That Have Made Headlines

JPMorgan Admits Metal, Treasuries Spoofing, to Pay $920M Fine

JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM has agreed to pay a penalty of $920 million to fully settle the probes related to “historical trading practices by former employees in the precious metals and U.S. treasuries markets, and related conduct between 2008 and 2016.” (Read More)

Micron Q4 Earnings Top, Shares Fall on Bleak Q1 View

Micron Technology Inc. MU reported stellar results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2020, wherein its top and bottom lines surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and marked solid year-over-year improvements. (Read More)

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>

Click to get this free report JPMorgan Chase Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) : Free Stock Analysis Report JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research