US equity markets suffered another round of steep falls to conclude another extremely volatile week on Wall Street - Dow down -913-points or -4.55% AT 19,173.98, paring an earlier rally of ~444-points or ~2.2%. The 30-stock index closed at its lowest level since 10 October, 2016. 3M Co and Walt Disney C (-%) were among the biggest drags on the Dow. Boeing Co added +0.4% in extended trading (after ending the regular session down 2.8%) after announced that it will halt its dividend and extend its share buyback halt until further notice as the company draws on all of its resources to sustain operations. Boeing added that Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and Chairman Larry Kellner will forgo all pay until the end of the year. McDonald’s Corp (down -0.68%) Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski told CNBC that the company has suspended share buybacks but has not changed its dividend policy (having declared a quarterly US$1.25 per share dividend in January, that was payed to shareholders on 16 March). McDonald’s has raised its dividend for 43 consecutive years since paying its first one in 1976. The broader S&P500 shed -4.34% to 2,304.92, its lowest close since 8 February, 2017. Macy’s Inc announced that it would suspend its quarterly dividend (albeit the US$0.3775c dividend already declared and payable on 1 April will not be affected) and withdrew its 2020 sales and profit forecasts. The department store operator also said that it would borrow US$1.5B from a revolving credit facility to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The company has already shut stores for two weeks from 18 March but has kept its on-line operations open for business. The technology-centric NASDAQ lost -3.79% to6,879.52, having gained over >2% earlier in the session. Apple Inc fell -6.35% and briefly fell below US$1 trillion in market capitalisation in the final 10-minute of trading. Microsoft Corp (down -3.76%) is currently the only other member of the trillion dollar club.
