Tesla, Apple shares fall as warnings hit Wall Street

With President Trump warning of a dire situation facing Americans over the coming weeks, Wall Street was rattled Wednesday, and shares of Bay Area stalwarts such as Tesla, Apple and HP joined in a broad stock market retreat amid growing fears about the coronavirus’ ongoing negative impact on the U.S. economy.

Tesla, which is expected to report its first-quarter vehicle delivery and production numbers this week, saw its shares fall by 8.1%, to $481.56, while Apple shares dropped by 4.5%, to $240.91.

HP shares plunged by 14.5%, to close at $14.84. On Tuesday, Xerox said it would give up its attempt to acquire HP for approximately $34 billion due to the effects of coronavirus on the current business environment.

Most other notable Bay Area companies also fell Wednesday, with the shares of Intel, Cisco Systems, Facebook, Nvidia and Google parent Alphabet all losing ground.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average performance symbolized the general feelings about the current market conditions, and what could lie ahead as coronavirus-related deaths increase. The Dow fell by 973.65 points, or 4.4%, to 20,943.51. The S&P 500 also performed poorly, and fell by 4.4%, to end the day at 2,470.50, while the Nasdaq Composite Index, which includes many Bay

Area tech stocks, gave up 4.4%, to fall to 7,360.58.

“The depth of the unknowns in the market from massive liquidity danger, COVID-19 containment timeline, stimulus arrival delays and hedge funds shorting (stocks) place enormous pressure on the market to retest the lows over the next 60 days,” said Eric Schiffer, director of private equity firm the Patriarch Organization.

Investors’ sentiment was dampened after President Trump on Tuesday said

Americans should prepare for “a rough two-week period”, and that between 100,000 and 240,000 people could die from the coronavirus pandemic even with the enactment of strict social distancing guidelines around the country.

“You can smell the disappointment among investors who were betting on an Easter Miracle resulting in business as usual on main street and Wall Street,” said Jeffrey Sica, Chief Executive of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. “Unfortunately

President Trump’s press conference last night shattered all possibility of that happening.”

In the Bay Area, the shelter-in-place edict, which closes all but essential businesses, and calls upon residents to mostly remain at home, was extended to May 3. New restrictions on construction projects and use of some public areas have been included in the order’s guidelines.