Stocks end strong week on lower note amid profit takingDow -915.39 at 21636.84, Nasdaq -295.16 at 7501.73, S&P -88.60 at 2541.47 [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 declined 3.4% on Friday after a rebound effort faded into the close, as investors took weekly profits. The benchmark index had started the session down 4.2%, then cut its losses to just 0.5% after the House passed the $2 trillion stimulus bill in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.1%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 3.8%, and the Russell 2000 lost 4.1%. The stimulus bill will provide relief for U.S. households and businesses, as the rising number of coronavirus infections continues to keep much of America in shutdown mode. On a related note, the U.S. surpassed China and Italy for the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. Before the close, United Airlines ($UAL 32.84, -2.71, -7.6%) said it isn't going to conduct involuntary furloughs or pay cuts in the U.S. before September 30. The extended timeline provided a general sense that management isn't expecting much of a rebound in air travel, saying demand could remain suppressed possibly into next year. In other words, it may have dampened hope for V-shape economic recovery. The market, meanwhile, had already been losing steam from its rebound effort prior to the memo. At session's end, the energy (-6.9%) and information technology (-4.6%) sectors led today's decline, while the utilities sector (+0.5%) closed higher. Within the Dow, shares of Boeing ($BA 162.00, -18.55, -10.3%) fell 10% after Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the company has no plans of using government aid at this time. Procter & Gamble ($PG 110.17, +2.79, +2.6%) bucked the broader trend after the stock was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel. In earnings news, Lululemon ($LULU 32.84, -2.71, -7.6%) reported better-than-expected quarterly results, but shares fell alongside the broader market after a strong week. U.S. Treasuries ended the week on a higher note, driving yields lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield declined three basis points to 0.23%, and the 10-yr yield declined six basis points to 0.75%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 1.0% to 98.36. WTI crude lost another 4.2%, or $0.95, settling lower at $21.65/BBL. Reviewing Friday's economic data: Personal income increased 0.6% m/m in February (Briefing.com consensus +0.4%) while personal spending rose 0.2%, as expected. The PCE Price Index increased 0.1% while the core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%, both as expected.The key takeaway from the report would have been that inflation remains subdued and that the income growth is a plus for consumer spending, but with the subsequent shutdown due to the coronavirus, the key takeaway now is that this February report is cold comfort in a world far different than the one that existed in February.The final reading for the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for March was revised down to 89.1 (Briefing.com consensus 95.7) from the preliminary reading of 95.9. The final reading for February was 101.0.The key takeaway from the report is that it captures the leading wave of the change in consumer sentiment, which is deteriorating rapidly in the face of the coronavirus impact on the U.S. economy. According to the report, the 11.9-point drop from February is the fourth largest one-month decline in nearly a half century. Looking ahead, Pending Home Sales for February on Monday. Nasdaq Composite: -16.4%S&P 500: -21.3%Dow Jones Industrial Average: -24.2%Russell 2000: -32.8% Market Snapshot Dow21636.84-915.39(-4.06%)Nasdaq7501.73-295.16(-3.79%)SP 5002541.47-88.60(-3.37%)10-yr Note +17/320.679NYSEAdv 651 Dec 2302 Vol 1.4 blnNasdaqAdv 844 Dec 2500 Vol 3.9 bln Industry Watch Strong: Consumer StaplesWeak: Energy, Industrials Moving the Market -- Stocks trade lower, pare weekly gains, in profit-taking tade-- House passes $2 trillion stimulus bill-- Relative weakness in energy stocks, oil pricesECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, personal income climbed 0.6% in February, with spending rising 0.2%. The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for March revealed a downwardly-revised drop to a three-year low of 89.1. The preliminary reading had been 95.9, and that was already down sharply from a two-year high reading of 101.0 in February. In political news, the House passed the $2T stimulus bill that had been approved yesterday by the Senate, sending it on to be signed by the President. President Trump announced in a tweet that he will be signing the bill into law at 4 pm ET today. Meanwhile, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 585,040 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 26,819 deaths due to the disease. Also, the 97,028 confirmed cases in the U.S. place it ahead of Italy, China, and Spain in terms of being the country with the highest case count. TOP NEWS: General Motors ($GM) and Ford ($F) bore the brunt of the president's frustration as both automakers were instructed to speed up production of ventilators in a series of tweets. President Donald Trump said that "as usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B." He then added that GM "must" start making ventilators "now" and Ford should "get going on ventialtors, fast," while making an unclear reference to invoking the Defense Production Act. After the tweetstorm, Ventec Life Systems announced General Motors will build VOCSN critical care ventilators at GM's Kokomo, Indiana manufacturing facility with FDA-cleared ventilators scheduled to ship as soon as next month. "Depending on the needs of the federal government, Ventec and GM are poised to deliver the first ventilators next month and ramp up to a manufacturing capacity of more than 10,000 critical care ventilators per month with the infrastructure and capability to scale further," the companies reported. Meanwhile, Ford VP of Communications Mark Truby tweeted a company statement that reads in part: "Ford is pulling out all the stops to quickly and safely provide vitally needed equipment for patients, first responders and healthcare workers...We have team working flat-out with GE Healthcare to boost production of simplified ventilators, and with 3M to increase the production of powered air purifying respirators." Apple ($AAPL), in partnership with the CDC, has launched a tool to help users "understand what to do next about COVID-19." The site states: "Let's all look out for each other by knowing our status, trying not to infect others, and reserving care for those in need." Shares of cruise lines were among the worst performers on the S&P as it became clearer that they will not qualify for aid under the roughly $2T coronavirus stimulus package. The bill limits aid to U.S.-incorporated companies with a majority of workers based in the U.S., which are two criteria that effectively exclude major cruiseship operators including Carnival ($CCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ($NCLH) and Royal Caribbean ($RCL). MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Colgate-Palmolive ($CL), which rose 2.3% after SunTrust analyst William Chappell upgraded the stock to Buy on his thesis that COVID-19 will not only improve global hygiene today but "permanently alter" consumers' hygiene practices. Also higher was SmileDirectClub ($SDC), which advanced 13.4% after the company announced it has begun 3D printing medical-grade face shields for healthcare workers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the notable losers was BGC Partners ($BGCP), which dropped 25.8% after the company said it expects to reduce its quarterly dividend to 1c per common share. Raymond James analyst Patrick O'Shaughnessy downgraded BGC Partners two notches, to Market Perform from Strong Buy, stating that he was "surprised by and concerned with" the decision to slash the firm's quarterly dividend as he said that the cut, combined with drawing down the firm's revolver, makes him question whether there are risks to BGC's business model that he had not previously considered. Also lower was American Airlines ($AAL), which fell 10.3% after it announced that it will suspend 60% of its capacity in April as compared to the same period in 2019 and is planning to suspend up to 80% of its capacity in May compared to the same period in 2019. Additionally, United Airlines ($UAL) said that it will not conduct involuntary furloughs or pay cuts in the U.S. before September 30 following the passage of the "decisive, bipartisan" CARES Act. However, United noted that its April schedule is already cut by more than 60% and it is currently planning to make "even deeper cuts" in May and June. Source: (Briefing.com)(theFly.com) Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. If you liked this article, please click the LIKE (thumbs up) button. Feel free to leave any comments, question, or opinions. (Sign-up if you haven't already done so). Follow us/bookmark us and check back occasionally for additional articles or comments on our page... Wild Tiger Trading - start/main page.