Dow futures down 800, second quarter begins, Trump’s warning

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Oaktree Capital co-chairman Howard Marks is leaning toward a more negative outlook because of the uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic, but still, he said investors can do some buying as “things have gotten cheap enough.” The billionaire investor said, “I personally think that securities are low enough to buy a little. Somebody said to me, ‘is this the time to buy?’ I say no, ‘this is a time to buy.'” He urged investors to take a moderate approach in these uncertain times, adding that his approach “is not black or white, buy or sell.” — Tan, Fitzgerald 

DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach believes the coronavirus sell-off is not over yet and the market will hit a more “enduring” bottom after taking out the March low. “The low we hit in the middle of March … I would bet that low will get taken out,” Gundlach said in an investor webcast on Tuesday. “The market has really made it back to a resistance zone and the market continues to act somewhat dysfunctionally in my opinion. … Take out the low of March and then we’ll get a more enduring low.” The S&P 500 tumbled into a bear market at the fastest pace ever as the coronavirus pandemic caused unprecedented economic uncertainty. The equity benchmark hit a three-year closing low of 2,237.40 on March 23, more than 30{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} from its record high reached in February. – Li

There are more than 873,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus globally, including at least 189,633 in the United States. More than 4,000 people have died in the U.S. Cases in Spain surged past 100,000 on Thursday, with 7,719 new cases and 864 deaths in 24 hours. — Pound

Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell 11{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} last week and were 24{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} lower than last year as the coronavirus dents the spring housing market. Real estate agents and homebuilders have reported a sharp drop in buyer interest, and open houses and model homes are shuttering. While potential home buyers are backing away, more borrowers are refinancing to save money on monthly payments. Driven entirely by refinancing, total mortgage application volume increased 15.3{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 67{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} higher than one year ago, when interest rates were higher. After rising for two weeks, mortgage rates plunged to the lowest level in the MBA’s survey. —Stevens, Olick

President Donald Trump warned Americans of “very, very painful two weeks” ahead as the coronavirus cases are expected to surge in the U.S. “This could be a hell of a bad two weeks. This is going to be a very bad two, and maybe three weeks. This is going to be three weeks like we’ve never seen before,” Trump said at a White House press conference Tuesday. White House officials are projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the U.S. with coronavirus fatalities peaking over the next two weeks. “When you look at night, the kind of death that has been caused by this invisible enemy, it’s incredible.” —Li

U.S. stock futures fell sharply on Wednesday, the first day of the second quarter, as investors fretted over the latest White House projections on the coronavirus outbreak. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down more than 700 points, or 3.4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 3.4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 2.8{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively. Those losses come after the Dow and S&P 500 notched their worst first-quarter performance ever in the previous session. They also follow a warning from President Donald Trump, who said the U.S. should prepare for a “very, very painful two weeks” as White House officials project between 100,000 and 240,000 virus deaths in the U.S. —Imbert

—CNBC’s Diana Olick contributed reporting. 

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