A man crosses a nearly deserted Nassau Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange April 3, 2020. — Reuters pic
With the collapse spilling into June futures contracts, equity investors became wary of the extent of the economic damage from sweeping lockdown measures that have halted business activity and sparked millions of layoffs. “What you’re seeing is pulling back in the areas that have done well, and taking profits while you can,” said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. “The question will be whether this is a consolidation after the market ran up so quickly, or is this the beginning of a more important pullback in the overall market?”
International Business Machines Corp declined 3 per cent after the company withdrew its 2020 annual forecast late on Monday.