Stocks close higher in volatile session, oil prices reboundDow +188.27 at 20087.25, Nasdaq +160.73 at 7149.93, S&P +11.29 at 2409.39 [BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% on Thursday in a volatile session that saw the benchmark index fall as much as 3.3% in early action and gain as much as 2.9% in the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.0%, while the Nasdaq Composite (+2.3%) and Russell 2000 (+6.8%) were the big movers today amid strong gains in technology and small-cap stocks. The news cycle wasn't entirely positive with the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to surge globally, leading more companies to withdraw guidance, suspend dividends, and temporarily lay off workers. The latter started to be quantified in the weekly initial claims, which increased by 70,000 to 281,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000) for the week ending March 14. To mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus, central banks continued to amplify stimulus efforts, Congress continued to deliberate the proposed $1.3 trillion fiscal stimulus package, and clinical trials for new therapies remained in progress, according to President Trump. The latest central bank moves included the Fed establishing a Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF), the ECB and Bank of Japan announcing emergency bond-buying programs, and the Bank of England issuing a surprise rate cut and raising its daily asset purchases. Although not market-moving, there was an appreciation for the urgency to ease the intense strains on financial markets. Investors also welcomed the respite from the recent days of heavy selling, but the S&P 500 remained down 11.1% for the week and not all sectors participated in today's advance. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary (+3.4%) and energy (+6.8%) sectors presumably outperformed amid tactical trading opportunities and, specifically for the energy space, the 23% spike in WTI crude ($20.42/BBL, +4.71, +23.1%). Oil prices were aided by comments from President Trump, who said that he will get involved in the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia at "the appropriate time." An afternoon report from The Wall Street Journal noted that Texas is considering cutting oil production. Today's move in oil follows a 24% price drop yesterday. Left out of today's advance were the defensive-oriented S&P 500 utilities (-5.5%), consumer staples (-2.9%), health care (-1.9%), and real estate (-1.4%) sectors. U.S. Treasuries finished sharply higher after two days of aggressive selling, driving yields lower across the curve. The 2-yr yield declined 14 basis points to 0.38%, and the 10-yr yield declined 15 basis points to 1.12%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 1.5% to 102.67, as demand remained strong for the world's reserve currency. Reviewing Thursday's economic data: Initial claims for the week ending March 14 increased by 70,000 to 281,000 (Briefing.com consensus 220,000), bolstered by the impact of the coronavirus. The unadjusted number of initial claims increased by 50,517 to 250,892. Continuing claims for the week ending March 7 increased by 2,000 to 1.701 million.The key takeaway from the report is that it is an early warning sign of much larger claims numbers to come considering the fact that many forced, or voluntary, business closures didn't start to ramp up until the middle of the month with initial expectations that they will be closed at least through the end of March.The Philadelphia Fed Index for March dropped to -12.7 (Briefing.com consensus 10.0) from the 36.7 reading in February.The current account deficit for the fourth quarter totaled $109.8 billion. The third quarter deficit was revised to $125.4 billion from $124.1 billion. Looking ahead, investors will receive Existing Home Sales for February on Friday. Nasdaq Composite: -20.3%S&P 500: -15.4%Dow Jones Industrial Average: -29.6%Russell 2000: -36.6% Market Snapshot Dow20087.25+188.27(0.95%)Nasdaq7149.93+160.73(2.30%)SP 5002409.39+11.29(0.47%)10-yr Note +23/321.175NYSEAdv 2251 Dec 681 Vol 1.7 blnNasdaqAdv 2522 Dec 794 Vol 4.7 bln Industry Watch Strong: Consumer Discretionary, EnergyWeak: Utilities, Consumer Staples Moving the Market -- Stocks near highs with technology and small-caps outperforming -- Central banks step up stimulus measures to support financial markets, Washington continues to deliberate on stimulus package-- Treasury yields declineECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims surged 70,000 to 281,000 in the week ended March 14. The Philly Fed index plunged a record 49.4 points to -12.7 in March. The current account deficit narrowed to $109.8B in Q4. The leading economic index rose 0.1% to 112.1 in February. Additionally, the Fed announced its 3rd emergency lending facility overnight, MMLF. The Fed created a Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility to lend to financial institution secured by high quality assets by these institutions from money market mutual funds. In Europe, the ECB last night announced a EUR 750B Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program and added that it "is fully prepared to increase the size of its asset purchase programs and adjust their composition, by as much as necessary and for as long as needed." Meanwhile, the Bank of England announced this morning that it will increase holdings of UK government bonds and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bonds by GBP 200B to a total of GBP 645B and reduced its Bank Rate by 15 basis points to 0.1%. TOP NEWS: Ford ($F), the day after announcing along with peers General Motors ($GM) and FCA ($FCAU) that it will be halting production in North America, suspended its dividend this morning and withdrew its guidance due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. The company also announced that it notified lenders that it will borrow a total of over $15B that is unused against two lines of credit to offset the temporary working capital impacts of the coronavirus-related production shut downs and to "preserve Ford's financial flexibility." Marriott ($MAR) provided a business update on the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation, stating that it has withdrawn all parts of its 2020 outlook due to the pandemic but also pointing to "very early" signs of improvement in Greater China. Shares of Uber ($UBER) are on the rise on Thursday after the company said in a call with investors that it has plenty of cash on hand to get through the coronavirus outbreak. Near noon, Uber shares are up 34% while those of ride-sharing rival Lyft ($LYFT) have gained 25%. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas upgraded Tesla ($TSLA) to Equal Weight from Underweight, saying that despite the near-term negative economic impacts arising from the COVID-19 crisis, the electric carmaker has sufficient cash and liquidity available to weather near-term disruptions to production and sales. Meanwhile, in a tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that, "We will make ventilators if there is a shortage...Tesla makes cars with sophisticated hvac systems. SpaceX makes spacecraft with life support systems. Ventilators are not difficult, but cannot be produced instantly." Intercontinental Exchange ($ICE) announced that the New York Stock Exchange will initiate its business continuity plan and move, on a temporary basis, to fully electronic trading on Monday, March 23. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Ebix ($EBIX), which rose after it said its core platforms are "running as normal" amid the coronavirus outbreak. Also higher was Guess ($GES), which advanced after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was EQT Corporation ($EQT), which slid after Credit Suisse analyst William Janela assumed coverage of the stock with a Neutral rating and $8 price target. Also higher was 1Life Healthcare ($ONEM), which declined after reporting quarterly results. 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. 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