Skid Halted - WHAT A DAY!!!02-Mar-20Dow +1293.96 at 26703.29, Nasdaq +384.80 at 8952.17, S&P +136.01 at 3090.23 [BRIEFING.COM] The major averages surged on Monday with the S&P 500 (+4.6%) recording its first gain since February 19 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+5.1%) outperformed. Equities started the new week on a firmly higher note even though the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States continued increasing while China reported its worst Manufacturing (35.7) and Non-Manufacturing PMI (29.6) readings in history. China's PMI readings were much weaker than what was reported at the depth of the financial crisis, which promptly led to more calls for stimulus from the People's Bank of China. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, offered to purchase JPY500 bln worth of JGBs. On the home front, the fed funds futures market continued pointing to expectations for a 50-basis point cut at the March 18 meeting or before. Growing stimulus hopes contributed to another day of gains in the Treasury market, pressuring the 10-yr yield to a fresh record low (1.059%) in morning trade. Treasuries finished the day near their starting levels with the 10-yr yield down four basis points to 1.09%. All eleven sectors finished the day in positive territory with nine groups climbing at least 3.0%. Countercyclical sectors like utilities (+5.9%), consumer staples (+5.5%), and real estate (+5.1%) outperformed throughout the day while the top-weighted technology sector (+5.7%) also made a significant contribution to the Monday advance. The utilities sector returned into positive territory for Q1 (+0.9%) while consumer staples rallied behind Costco ($COST 309.14, +28.00, +10.0%). The wholesale retailer spiked off a six-month low after Cleveland Research upgraded the stock to Buy after reports of very strong store traffic over the weekend. Costco will report its Q2 results on Thursday. Clorox ($CLX 172.01, +12.59, +7.9%) made for another notable outperformer in the staples sector, rebounding from Friday's sharp loss. On the cyclical side, technology (+5.7%) had a very good showing even though chipmakers lagged. The PHLX Semiconductor Index still jumped 3.5%, but most components finished behind the broader market. However, that underperformance was overshadowed by a formidable showing from large sector components. Apple (AAPL 298.81, +25.45, +9.3%) surged nearly 10.0% to levels from Tuesday. The stock was upgraded to Outperform at Oppenheimer. Today's rally overshadowed continued weakness among transport stocks. The Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.9%) was down for the bulk of the session, but a late rally helped the group turn positive. However, airlines like JetBlue Airways ($JBLU 15.57, -0.21, -1.3%), American Airlines ($AAL 18.86, -0.19, -1.0%), and United Airlines ($UAL 61.26, -0.33, -0.5%) remained weak on expectations for more coronavirus-related disruptions to travel. Similarly, cruise operators like Carnival ($CCL 33.06, -0.40, -1.2%) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ($NCLH 35.59, -1.67, -4.5%) saw continued pressure after Japanese cruise operator Luminous Cruise filed for bankruptcy due to a collapse in demand. Royal Caribbean ($RCL 80.56, +0.15, +0.2%) spent the bulk of the session in the red but turned positive in the late afternoon. Reviewing today's economic data: The ISM Manufacturing Index for February managed to eke out an expansion reading at 50.1 (Briefing.com consensus 50.5), but that was weaker than expected and down from 50.9 in January. The dividing line between growth and contraction is 50.0.The key takeaway from the report is that there were noted concerns in respondents' commentary about the negative impact of the coronavirus, which is telling because the virus has continued to spread globally since the report was compiled, implying there is an increased risk of the index falling below 50.0 in March.Total construction spending increased 1.8% m/m in January (Briefing.com consensus +0.7%) on the heels of an upwardly revised 0.2% increase (from -0.2%) in December. Residential spending was up 2.0% m/m and nonresidential spending was up 1.6% m/m.The key takeaway from the report is that January marked the largest m/m increase in construction spending since February 2018, bolstered by continued strength in residential spending. February auto and truck sales will be reported throughout Tuesday. Nasdaq Composite -0.2% YTDS&P 500 -4.4% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average -6.4% YTDRussell 2000 -9.0% YTD Market Snapshot Dow26703.29+1293.96(5.09%)Nasdaq8952.17+384.80(4.49%)SP 5003090.23+136.01(4.60%)10-yr Note -8/321.088NYSEAdv 2156 Dec 500 Vol 1.71 blnNasdaqAdv 2346 Dec 916 Vol 4.18 bln Industry Watch Strong: Consumer Staples, Real Estate, Utilities, TechnologyWeak: Energy, Industrials, Communication Services Moving the Market Growing stimulus hopes fuel rebound in equitiesChina reported weakest Manufacturing PMI and Non-Manufacturing PMI readings on record Stocks surge to start new week in rebound from last week's drop Stocks bounced back after suffering a record-setting selloff last week despite the fact that the first U.S. death linked to the coronavirus was reported over the weekend and the domestic death toll has risen to six as of the time of this writing. However, Fed Chair Powell’s statement Friday afternoon that the central bank will use its "tools and act as appropriate" to respond to the outbreak, along with a report that the G7 finance ministers are expected to hold a conference call tomorrow to discuss measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus, helped to support stocks and bring out buyers that spent all of last week on the sidelines. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., Markit's PMI dipped to 50.7 in the final February reading, down from the 50.8 preliminary and 1.2 points lower than the 51.9 reading for January. The ISM manufacturing index slipped 0.8 ticks to 50.1 in February after bouncing 3.1 points to a reading of 50.9 in January. In COVID-19 news, Bloomberg said that the sixth death due to the coronavirus outbreak has been reported in the U.S. Bloomberg added that all six deaths linked to the virus in the U.S. have been in the Seattle area. In election news, CBS reported that U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar has suspended her presidential campaign and will endorse former Vice President Joe Biden. The news comes ahead of "Super Tuesday" voting and after South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg suspended his presidential campaign yesterday. TOP NEWS: Shares of Twitter ($TWTR) rose 7.9% after Bloomberg reported that Paul Singer's Elliott Management is seeking to force the departure of Jack Dorsey and the New York Times indicated in a report of its own that the hedge fund's stake could be worth about $1B, or roughly 4% of Twitter's market value. Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz upgraded Apple ($AAPL) to Outperform from Perform with a $320 price target, arguing that its products and services "will prove more resilient than competitive products in uncertain times." In a research note partially titled "Own the Recurring Revenue Machine," Uerkwitz added that he expects "temporary shifts" of iPhone shipment between product cycles to have an immaterial impact on the stock and recommends buying Apple on the recent selloff. Apple supplier NXP Semiconductors ($NXPI) provided an update to its revenue guidance due to potential impacts from the novel coronavirus. Although it has been a challenge "getting our arms around the actual business impact of the virus," the semiconductor maker currently expects the impact to revenue in the first quarter to be in the range of $50M-$150M. In M&A news, Forty Seven ($FTSV) announced an agreement to be acquired by Gilead Sciences ($GILD) for $95.50 per share in cash, or approximately $4.9B. The addition of Forty Seven’s investigational lead product candidate, magrolimab, will strengthen Gilead’s immuno-oncology research and development portfolio, the company said. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE), has died at the age of 84, it was reported this morning. Meanwhile, JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa, who has become the most noted bear on the stock on Wall Street, upgraded General Electric shares to Neutral from Underweight with a price target of $8, up from $5. Tusa says the spread between his free cash flow estimate and consensus is narrower after the company's better than expected 2019. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that UBS (UBS) CEO Sergio Ermotti, who will be departing the Swiss bank later this year, is set to become chairman of Swiss Re ($SSREY) next year. Additionally, Reuters said that Chevron ($CVX) is offering buyouts to reduce its U.S. oil exploration and production workforce as a way to cut costs amid sharply lower oil and gas prices. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Karyopharm ($KPTI), which surged 69.6% after it said its Phase 3 BOSTON study met its primary endpoint. Also higher was Co-Diagnostics ($CODX), which gained 34.6% after it said it will provide COVID-19 tests to U.S. CLIA labs. Among the notable losers was Novavax ($NVAX), which dropped 24.9% after the company filed with the SEC to sell up to $150M of shares. Also lower was GTT Communications ($GTT), which fell 7.5% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow rose 1,293.96, or 5.09%, to 26,703.32, the Nasdaq gained 384.80, or 4.49%, to 8,952.16, and the S&P 500 advanced 136.01, or 4.6%, to 3,090.23. Source: (Briefing.com)(theFly.com) Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. If you liked this article, please click the LIKE (thumbs up) button. 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