April 22, 2020

Good morning,

For the second day, plunging oil prices took the U.S. equity markets down as well.  At the close of trading, the Dow, S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed down 631.56 (-2.67%), 86.60 (-3.07%) and 297.50 (-3.48%) points, respectively.  On the bright side, the price of oil did seem to form a bottom and closed in positive territory.

No real change as to what the markets are looking for – a safe reopening of the economy, economic stimulus to begin to take affect and an end to the enormous glut in the supply of oil.

As of this morning, the price of oil did stabilize a bit, giving the U.S. equity markets a reason to resume in rally mode once again with Dow futures up nearly 400 points in the pre-market.  The Dow has been able to hold its gains in the 400 +/- point range through mid-morning today.

Our eyes are on both the federal and state governments to devise safe ways for their respective economies to reopen for business.  By all appearances, Texas may be the first state to begin reopening its economy with many more to soon follow.  States harder hit by the virus are likely to remain on lockdown until the growth curve in cases of the coronavirus slows for a sustainable period of time.

Stay safe and healthy.