By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Wall Street fell with U.S. cities and states continuing to shut down as coronavirus infections continue to soar.
Cases are rising in 41 out of 50 states, and the U.S. leads the world with about 3 million infected and133,000 killed. Brazil has the second greatest number of infections and deaths, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has dismissed the virus as insignificant, tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (NYSE:EWZ) dropped more than 2%.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. might ban Chinese social media apps such as the popular TikTok, driving shares of rivals Snap (NYSE:SNAP), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) higher.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) rose 6.8% on news it is preparing to launch its Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime rival this month.
Airlines were among the most battered stocks for the day, with United Airlines warning that weaker demand would lead to job cuts in the coming months, sending its shares 7.5% lower. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) were all lower. Banks were also down ahead of earnings season, which begins next week.
Here are three things that might move markets tomorrow:
1. Mexico in the House
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is scheduled to visit his U.S. counterpart on July 8. Amlo, as he is better known, is flying economy to Washington for a two-day summit, The Guardian reported. This will be the Mexican leader’s first foreign trip since taking power in 2018 to commemorate the start of a new free trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada.
The visit comes ahead of the November U.S. presidential election. The visit to Donald Trump, “the most anti-Mexican president in recent memory,” according to Slate, has been met with criticism in Mexico. The trip has been called unnecessary and ill-timed, and an endorsement of Trump that is undeserved.
2. Has Coronavirus Reality Finally Hit the Market?
After several days of rallying, much of Wall Street turned lower on Tuesday, wiping out Monday’s gains. Even tech couldn’t save the day, with Nasdaq down 0.9%. The S&P dropped 1.1%. The Dow was down 1.5%, lower for the first time in three days.
Stocks have seen massive gains since March, with several hitting records, including Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), both of which closed down on Tuesday. Cities and states across the U.S. have been reversing reopenings to try to prevent the spread of Covid-19, threatening to stunt the recovery that had been starting to show legs.
3. Slow Summer Days
Crude oil inventories are expected to have dropped by more than 3 million barrels when the weekly number is released on July 8. U.S. inventories dropped a surprising 7 million barrels last week ahead of the long July 4 holiday weekend.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY)reports earnings after the close on Wednesday. Fiscal first quarter earnings are likely to be affected by store closures because of the coronavirus pandemic, though InvestorPlace points to positive actions taken by the company during the challenging times, including the postponement of $150 million in capital expenditures, suspension of a share repurchase plan and executive salary reductions. BBBY is down more than 34% since the start of 2020.