March 9, 2020 8:43am

Has the worse yet to come turns to the question of “is the timing right to buy into a sector that has been prone to huge day-to-day and even intraday swings since the beginning of the month” hangs in the balance of infection versus the constancy of being oversold?

Pre-open indication: watch and cry

March continues as a rollercoaster month – My version of the morning’s numbers is written to be informative; it’s what is about what happened 

Dow future are DOWN -4.87%% (-1255 points), S&P futures are DOWN -4.89% (-145 points) and NASDAQ futures are DOWN -4.82%% (-410 points)

 

Stock futures plummet as investors braced for the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus, while Saudi Arabia (on Saturday) slashed official crude selling prices for April, in a sudden U-turn from previous attempts to support the oil market as the coronavirus hammers global demand;

European stocks fell 6% with the pan-European Stoxx 600 dropping 6.1%;

Asia Pacific markets exhibited steep declines as oil prices plunged while declines in regional markets were exacerbated by fears surrounding the coronavirus spread.

 

Data Docket: CME FedWatch tracker indicated traders expect the Fed to slash interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point at its upcoming March meeting.

 

Henry’omics:

The sharp declines in the futures market signaled more confusion and turmoil in the coming sessions after a roller-coaster week.

The Dow is down 12.3% since its Feb. 12 record high, a decline that meets the widely accepted definition for a correction. The Nasdaq is down -12.5% and the broad-based S&P is down -12.2% and both in correction territory.

The massive sell-off could trigger key market circuit breakers during regular trading hours. If the S&P 500 drops 7%, trading will pause for 15 minutes. <CNBC>

However, unfathomable concerns abound concerning the economic impact of the coronavirus on economies around the world which does not make for a boisterous game of “pick-up-stocks”.

 

Market timing is about the capacity of one’s risk appetite.

Focus on liquidity and capital preservation.

 

Friday night’s title: “a big blip with a moderate comeback or a black swan; fear ruled the Friday’s session only modulated by Larry Kudrow’s optimistic message”

  • the NASDAQ closed DOWN -162.98 points (-1.87%);
  • the IBB closed down -1.53% and XBI closed down -2.50%;
  • the close was negative with an A/D line of 6/29, 2 flats of 35 covered;
  • the range of the 4-upside was +1.81% (IONS) to +12.2% (BCLI) while the 29-downside ranged from -0.50% (BLFS) to -10.68% (ADVM); 
  • 3 out of the 4-upside had higher than the 3-month average volume;
  • 13 out of the 29-downside had higher than the 3-month average volume;

 

Q1:

March registered 2 positive and 3 negative closes

February registered 9 negative, 9 positive closes, 3 vacation days and 1 holiday.

January registered 9 negative, 10 positive closes and 2 holidays.

 

Q4:

  • December register 11 negative and 10 positive closes
  • November registered 1 holiday, 12 positive and 8 negative close;
  • October registered 10 positive, 1 neutral and 14 negative closes;

 

Companies in my headlights – It’s your decision; I provide an idea and context:

Pre-open indications: nothing ventured, nothing gained

 

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change, and not intended to be a forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, nor investment advice.

Whether information or intelligence is good, bad or somewhere in between; I put into context what is relevant and useful for investors.  All investments are subject to risks. Investors should consider investment objectives.

Henry McCusker, the editor and publisher of RegMed Investors does not hold or have positions in securities referred to in this publication.