Bernie Sanders drops out of presidential race and stocks rally

Stocks were up nicely today, closing at their best levels in almost a month (since March 10th to be exact).

The major indices traded higher at the open, then swung back and forth.

And after a choppy start to trading, stocks dropped in the first 40 minutes of the session.

But after that stocks rallied.

The major indices were up nicely all morning, then traded sideways during lunch. But then after lunch stocks rallied again. And by the end of the day the major indices were trading near session highs.

News that Senator Bernie Sanders is dropping out of the presidential race was one catalyst for today’s rally.

Bernie’s views on public issues (Medicare for all, cancelling college debt, and free childcare) might be good for Main Street, but not for Wall Street (traders were worried that a Bernie Presidency would hurt business and increase taxes).

Although “Bernie for President” was looking less and less likely over the last few weeks, his official dropping out puts Vice President Joe Biden at the top of the list for a Democratic nomination…and everyone agrees that Biden’s views are more business friendly.

Today’s rally put the DOW back above 23,000. This puts the DOW 29% higher than the low set on March 23rd, but still down 18% for the year.

Here’s where the major indices ended the day:

• The S&P finished with a 3.4% gain. Up 91 points, the S&P ended at 2,750.
• The DOW ended 3.4% higher. Adding 780 points the DOW closed at 23,434.
• The NASDAQ was up 2.6%. With a 207 point gain the NASDAQ finished at 8,091.

Crude Oil (CL) snapped a 2-day losing streak and closed back above the $25 mark. With a 6.5% gain, Crude Oil finished at $25.17 a barrel.

The Fed Minutes from March were released today. The minutes showed that the Fed plans to keep interest rates a zero until the economy has gotten past the impact of the coronavirus.

The hospitality industry and cruise lines saw a boost after news that new coronavirus cases in the U.S. and around the world have been dropping since Friday (according to John Hopkins University).

Carnival (CCL) jumped 6.1%, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) was up 6.5%, and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) finished higher by 12.0%.

Marriott (MAR) was a winner as well, up 11.8%. And Wynn Resorts (WYNN) rallied 13.5%.

Just a reminder, markets are closed Friday for Good Friday. This means any weekly options are expiring a day early (4/9) instead.