US equity markets dropped as several US states imposed fresh business restrictions in response a spike in coronavirus cases - Dow fell -730-points or -2.84%. Nike Inc fell -7.62% after reporting an unexpected fiscal fourth quarter loss (-US$790M or -US$0.51c per share) and a sales decline of -38% year-on-year after the closing bell of the previous session. Bloomberg reported that Exxon Mobil Corp (down -3.43%) is preparing to cut between 5% and 10% of their US-based workforce. The broader S&P500 shed -2.42% (settling below its 200-day moving average), with Communication Services (down -4.49%), Financials (-4.33%) and Energy (-3.51%) leading all eleven primary sectors lower. Banks were under pressure following the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest stress-test results for the major banks after the closing bell of last Thursday’s (25 June) session. The central bank voted to require the 34 largest banks to preserve capital by suspending share repurchases and cap dividend payments in the third quarter to guard against a potential coronavirus-induced slump. Goldman Sachs Group Inc fell -8.65% and JPMorgan Chase and Co -5.48%. Airlines were also under fresh pressure. American Airlines Group (down -6.0%) announced it would sell flights to capacity starting 1 July, abandoning caps on passenger loads designed to promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. However, Delta Air Lines Inc (down -3.93%) announced they will continue to limit the number of passengers on their planes beyond September. Meanwhile, United Airlines Holdings Inc (down -5.19%) announced it would resume service to China beginning 8 July. The NASDAQ fell -2.59%. Microsoft Corp (down -2.0%) said it will close all of its physical retail store locations in the US (and take a US$450M charge as a result) as part of the software and cloud giant’s new approach to retail. Facebook Inc dropped -8.3% after Unilever Plc and Verizon Communications joined an advertising boycott of the social media giant, saying that the company is not doing enough to prevent ‘hate speech’ on its platforms. In merger and acquisition (M&A) news, Amazon.com Inc (down -2.24%) announced that it was purchasing self-driving car company Zoox for more than >US$1B.
