* Major U.S. indexes slide; banks, small caps take big hits
* Energy weakest major S&P 500 sector; healthcare sole
gainer
* Euro STOXX 600 index falls >3%
* Dollar down; gold up; crude, bitcoin collapse
* U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield collapses to ~1.50%
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U.S. ON THE MAT (1056 EST/1556 GMT)
U.S. stocks are being tossed to the floor on Black Friday,
triggered by the discovery of a new and possibly
vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant.
Not surprisingly, given renewed coronavirus concerns, more
economically sensitive groups and "re-opening plays" are being
hit especially hard, while defensive groups see less severe
declines.
Banks and small caps are down more than 4%.
Energy is sliding nearly 6%, while NYMEX crude futures
are collapsing more than 11%.
The 10-Year U.S. Treasury yield has plunged to
the 1.50% area.
Healthcare is a bright spot as the only major S&P
500 sector up on the day, though just fractionally.
This chart shows action in a composite of five major
re-opening plays vs a composite of five major stay-at-home
stocks:
As the re-opening group is hit relatively harder vs
stay-at-home plays, the ratio is on track for its biggest daily
percentage decline in more than a year.
Meanwhile, retail stocks are also down sharply on this Black
Friday. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is off more than 3%.
Here is where markets stand in mid-morning trading:
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
U.S. STOCKS POISED TO PLUNGE (0900 EST/1400 GMT)
U.S. equity index futures are sliding on Friday, with
travel, bank and commodity-linked stocks bearing the brunt of
the selloff, as the discovery of a new and possibly
vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant, spooked investors ahead
of a short trading session.
Of note, over the past 10 years, the day after Thanksgiving
has been relatively quiet. On average, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average has opened down around 0.05% and ended the day
with a 0.05% gain. Over this period, the DJI's range on that
Friday as a percentage of the prior trading day's close has
averaged only around 0.6%.
As stands, the CBOE Market Volatility Index has
popped to a more than two-month high, and CBT e-mini Dow Futures
are suggesting the Dow will plunge more than 2% in the
early throes of this Black-Friday session. And at
more than 3%, the Dow Futures' range so far today as a
percentage of Wednesday's close is its biggest since early
January.
All of this is occurring in the wake of pronounced technical
deterioration across the market. Click here:
Thus, based on the futures' action, the DJI's 50-day moving
average (DMA), which ended Wednesday around 35,260, can quickly
come under pressure. The Dow has not closed below this
intermediate-term moving average since October 13:
The DJI's 200-DMA ended Wednesday around 34,300. The
blue-chip average has not closed below this long-term moving
average since July 13, 2020.
A key support line resides around 34,000. Click here:
Here is your premarket snapshot:
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
FOR FRIDAY'S LIVE MARKETS' POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EST/1400 GMT
- CLICK HERE:
(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views
expressed are his own)