Dow curbs 800+ point loss as stocks close down, but off lows

U.S. stocks closed down across the board but off the worst levels of the session as volatility continued following the massive swings experienced Monday. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased an 800+ point deficit, briefly turning positive, before ending the session off 66 points or 0.1%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2% and 2%, respectively.  

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	43870.35	+461.88	+1.06%
SP500	S&P 500	5948.71	+31.60	+0.53%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	18972.420086	+6.28	+0.03%

The choppiness follows Monday’s wild turnaround, which had the Dow rebound from a 1,000-plus-point drop and also followed a three-week decline for the S&P 500, concluding with its worst weekly stretch since the start of the pandemic. 

The VIX Index, the so-called fear gauge, rose for the 7th straight day of gains, the longest winning streak since October 2020. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
VIX-UT	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-

BIDEN TOUTS PLANS FOR LOWERING PRICES AS INFLATION SURGE CONTINUES

Jitters about rising interest rates tied to inflation remain in focus as the Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting. Investors are also monitoring mounting tensions between Russia and the West over concerns that Moscow is planning to invade Ukraine, with NATO outlining potential troop and ship deployments.     

Oil rose closing up over 2% to $85.60. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
USO	UNITED STATES OIL FUND - USD ACC	73.20	+1.18	+1.64%

In earnings, IBM's better-than-expected quarter helped lift shares as sales grew the fastest in about 11 years. Microsoft will report after the bell today and Apple Thursday. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
IBM	INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP.	222.34	+7.70	+3.59%
MSFT	MICROSOFT CORP.	412.87	-2.62	-0.63%
AAPL	APPLE INC.	228.52	-0.48	-0.21%

American Express reported fourth-quarter profits rose 20% from a year earlier, as eager consumers spent record levels of money during the holiday season on the company's namesake cards. The stock jumped. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AXP	AMERICAN EXPRESS CO.	293.00	+5.29	+1.84%

Johnson and Johnson edged past Wall Street's expectations, helped by growing pharmaceutical sales, but revenue fell short up 10% to $24.8 billion, missing the $25.2 billion estimate. The world’s biggest maker of health care products also debuted a strong 2022 forecast. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
JNJ	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	155.48	+2.38	+1.56%

In other pharma news, the Food and Drug Administration is limiting use of Regeneron and Eli Lilly's COVID-19 treatments due to lack of efficacy, while Pfizer and BioNTech announced clinical trials of their drug specifically to target the omicron variant. 

FORD SHUTS OFF ORDERS FOR NEW $20,000 MAVERICK PICKUP

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
REGN	REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.	744.50	+1.15	+0.15%
LLY	ELI LILLY & CO.	749.60	-3.77	-0.50%
PFE	PFIZER INC.	25.14	+0.20	+0.78%
BNTX	BIONTECH SE	108.23	+6.09	+5.96%

AMC in focus after The Wall Street Journal reported it may seek to refinance debt. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
AMC	AMC ENTERTAINMENT	4.49	+0.04	+0.90%

In crypto currencies, Bitcoin continued to recover from Monday's lows hovering around the $36K level.

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and Dogecoin grabbed some headlines after Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased he would eat a Happy Meal on television if McDonald's were to accept it for payment. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MCD	MCDONALD'S CORP.	288.44	-2.40	-0.83%

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.