Marching On

U.S. markets tumble to close the month of March and the first quarter, which was the worst ever for stocks.

The Market Sum | Insight after the bell By Caleb Silver, Editor in Chief Tuesday's Headlines 1. US markets tumble to end worst Q1 in history 2. Trump to ease some tariffs for 90 days 3. Historic lows for oil crack break-even prices 4. The best and worst assets of the first quarter Markets Closed Dow 21,917.16 −410.32 (-1.84%) S&P 2,584.59 −42.06 (-1.60%) Nasdaq 7,700.10 −74.05 (-0.95%) VIX 53.54 −3.54 (-6.20%) Bitcoin $6,437.18 +$4.04 (+0.06%) US 10-Yr Yield 0.698 +0.028 (+4.18%)     photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images   Markets Today "If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb," so the saying goes. From our perspective, the whole month has been more like a cyclone that has knocked global markets into bear territory and wreaked historic bouts of volatility across every asset class. It's far from over yet, but since we are at the end of the month and the first quarter, it's a good time to take stock of where things stand.    The Dow and S&P 500 had their worst first-quarter performances ever, losing 23.2% and 20%, respectively. The Dow also had its worst overall quarter since 1987 while the S&P 500 had its biggest quarterly loss since 2008.   For the month, the Dow and S&P 500 fell 13.7% and 12.5%, respectively—the worst one-month declines since 2008.   We have a chart-fest for you right below your headlines. Scroll on down.  Headlines: President Trump approved a proposal pushed for by some businesses to delay payment of certain tariffs by three months, according Bloomberg. The announcement to defer levies for so-called most-favored nation duties will come in the form of an executive order as soon as this week. It would give the Treasury Department the authority to direct Customs and Border Protection to delay collecting tariffs on those imports for 90 days. President Trump called for the U.S. to spend another $2 trillion on a massive infrastructure package. In a tweet, he wrote that "this is the time" to craft an infrastructure overhaul with U.S. interest rates at zero during the crisis. "It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country!" Simon Property Group has furloughed about 30% of its workforce, according to CNBC. The furloughs impact full- and part-time workers at its Indianapolis headquarters and at its malls and outlet centers across the U.S. Domino's Pizza has withdrawn its 2020 guidance due to COVID-19 and provided preliminary estimate of sales from the first quarter of 2020. While most U.S. stores are open, business has been impacted by shelter in place directives, pantry loading, university and school closures, event cancellations, and the lack of live televised sports. 1,400 international stores are temporarily closed. Airbnb announced it will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations and create a $10 million Superhost Relief Fund. The company will also allow guests to receive full refunds for any trips starting on or before May 31st that were booked prior to March 14th. Huawei said being placed on the U.S. blacklist led to a $12 billion revenue shortfall last year. The Chinese tech company had projected revenue of around $135 billion, but it ended up with $123 billion in 2019. Net profit grew 5.65% from 2018. Xerox has dropped its bid to merge with HP, according to reports. Xerox had previously led a hostile takeover bid of HP, which would've combined the two legendary tech giants. HP had rejected Xerox's proposals. In February, Xerox raised its offer to $24 per share, which would value HP at about $34 billion. Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line are all extending their cruise suspensions through May. Disney Cruise Line has cancelled cruises until April 28th. The Florida Attorney General is investigating Norwegian for misleading customers about the seriousness of the outbreak. Video conferencing apps saw a record 62 million downloads globally from March 14th–21st, according to App Annie. This was up 45% from the week prior and a 90% increase from the weekly average in 2019. Zoom was downloaded 14 times the weekly average in Q4 2019 in the U.S., 20x more in the U.K., 22x more in France, 17x more in Germany, 27x more in Spain, and 55x more in Italy. Gen Z favorite Houseparty is well on its way to being a household name in Europe.    Global Markets' Winter of Discontent That's the understatement of the year, and it's only the end of March. Most developed markets are in deep bear territory, with Brazil, Mexico, and Canada suffering the most. The U.S. and Japan have recently rallied out of bear territory but the economic impacts of the global pandemic are just starting to manifest outside of Asia. Have investors priced that in already?   chart courtesy YCharts     Oil Prices are at Historic Lows Faced with the double-whammy of a global pandemic and a bitter split between OPEC (Saudi Arabia) and OPEC+ (Russia), oil prices are down around 60%, which has had a massive ripple effect throughout the petro-economy. Prices have fallen beneath the break-even level for most fossil fuel producers, which means it costs more to pump it out of the ground than what it sells for downstream.   chart courtesy BankofAmerica     The lower oil prices have naturally translated to lower gas prices, especially in the U.S. Normally, that would be good for consumers, except that no one is driving or flying anywhere.    source: AAA     Most Asset Classes Suffered Steep Losses It hasn't been just oil and other commodities that felt the pain this quarter. From copper to high-yield bonds, very few asset classes performed well as big investors sold basically everything to raise cash. We are very curious to see if and how they put that money to work in this coming quarter.      The Best & Worst Individual Stocks of Q1 Cruise companies, energy companies, and airlines found themselves on the selling end all quarter. A global pandemic and worldwide travel restrictions have paralyzed those industries, and they will not emerge from this crisis the same. While airlines and U.S.-based cruise companies may be in line for a bailout, the oil sector will see many defaults, bankruptcies, and job losses.      The best performing stocks of Q1 were a mix of drug companies working on COVID-19 cures; Clorox, which sold a lot of bleach and wipes; Netflix, because we are home; and NortonLifeLock, which is cashing in on cyber-security concerns. But Citrix Systems found its moment as working from home means we all need to connect through VPN and manage shared digital workspaces. This is likely a trend, so keep an eye on Citrix, Slack, Monday, Zoom, and all the other remote connectivity companies.      More News: The Quickest Way to Get Your Stimulus Check Papa Johns Stock Rallies After Stronger-Than-Expected Sales Microsoft Stock Well Positioned to Thrive After Crisis SPONSORED BY FIDELITY INVESTMENTS Investing in Women in More Ways Than One Hiring and retaining women is essential to making financial expertise broadly accessible. Here's why Fidelity is prioritizing women's career growth and potential. LEARN MORE  > (chart courtesy YCHARTS)     Shares of Cigna are up by over 10% today; the insurance company announced yesterday that it will waive costs for all coronavirus-related treatments. Shares of medical supply company McKesson rose by nearly 10% following its recent announcement of a new multi-year strategic growth initiative.     Shares of Royal Caribbean are down by over 15% today; two different cruise ships belonging to the company had to have a crew member medically evacuated yesterday. American Airlines' stock price fell by nearly 13% after the company announced its plan to retire even more jets in response to the current economic situation. Word of the Day Chicken Tax The Chicken Tax is a 25% tariff on light trucks imported to the U.S., imposed in retaliation for European tariffs on American chicken imports. The tariff was imposed in 1963 in an executive order issued by President Lyndon Johnson.   In the years since then, trade barriers have fallen and the average U.S. tariff rate on industrial imports stands at 2% as of late 2019, according to U.S. government figures. But the Chicken Tax still stands.     image courtesy: Priceline.com   Today in History March 31st, 1928:  Alarmed at the feverish speculation in the bull market, Charles E. Merrill, the head of Merrill Lynch & Co., warns his clients to get out of stocks. "Take advantage of present high prices and put your own financial house in order," he pleads. Few listen, and Merrill looks like a fool. By the end of 1929, however, he looks pretty smart.    Joseph Nocera, A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994), pp. 38, 79. How can we improve the Market Sum? Tell us at marketsum@investopedia.com Go here to view  this newsletter in your browser. Enjoy the Market Sum? 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