Oil plunged to an 18-year low
Wall Street was all over the place this week, in a volatile stretch indicative of where the world is at right now. The Dow kicked off the week alternating between triple-digit losses and gains. The only model of consistency was the Nasdaq, earlier in the week logging its first four-day win streak since early February. Commodities joined in on the roller-coasted action as well, with oil scraping an 18-year low on Wednesday, and gold prices continuing a volatile trend linear with the U.S. dollar.
In what's become the new normal, coronavirus updates and their economic impact were at the forefront of investor's minds. Jobless claims were once again dismal, and several companies' earnings reports began to show the ill-effects of COVID-19. Through it all though, all three benchmarks are cruising toward weekly wins.
Drug Stocks Making Headlines
A handful of drug, biopharma, and biotech stocks have been making major moves this week, with Gilead Sciences (GILD) taking the stage Friday, after reports surfaced its COVID-19 treatment remdesivir was making progress.
On the flip side, Rite Aid (RAD) suffered steep losses on the heels of a less-than-impressive fiscal fourth-quarter loss, and Mylan (MYL) dropped off after naming a new executive chairman. Even further, our Founder and CEO Bernie Schaeffer, took a look at this red-hot biotech and the bearish trendline it's facing off with.
All Eyes on Blue-Chip, Bank Earnings
Bank stocks have also made headlines following a slew of earnings reports. This includes the Bank of New York Mellon (BK), which shared a quarterly earnings and revenue beat early in the week. Blue chip Goldman Sachs (GS) did not fare as well, pushing out a dismal report Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, Dow name Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) posted first-quarter revenue of $20.7 billion.
Earnings Season Forges On
Next week will bring a slew of notable earnings, including the likes of blue chips Visa (V), IBM (IBM), Intel (INTC), Coca-Cola (KO), and American Express (AXP). Netflix (NFLX) and Snap (SNAP) will also step into the earnings confessional, while weekly jobless claims will remain in focus as Wall Street closely follows the economic fallout of COVID-19. Until then, be sure to brush up on our recent take on levels of resistance you should watch as stocks rebound, and a contrarian approach to breaking down sector performance.