Stock Market Today: Market's Roller-Coaster Ride Takes a Steep Drop

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published 24 June 2020

Stocks tumbled Wednesday, hurt by downbeat economic news and concern over the surge in new coronavirus cases. The U.S. identified more than 35,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of the entire pandemic. With new cases rising in more than 20 states, investors are coming to grips with the possibility that parts of the U.S. might need to go back under lockdown. In gloomy economic news, the International Monetary Fund slashed its 2020 global output forecast to -4.9% from -3%. The Dow fell 2.7% to close at 25,445.

Where to Invest Right Now

Wednesday's washout doesn't mean the end is nigh for the current uptrend. Tech stocks, the stars of 2020, held up relatively well Wednesday, with Intel (-1.4%) and Apple (-1.8%) helping to mitigate the Dow's loss. Indeed, it's reasonable to assume that tech stocks, ranging from famous names to under-the-radar firms, will continue to lead the market higher in a post-pandemic world. Between momentum and fundamentals, the tech sector remains the best bet for market leadership, a fact that's not lost on the "smart money." Among hedge funds' favorite stocks, tech claims four of the five top spots. Have a look at all 25 of hedge funds' favorite blue-chip stocks.

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Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the august publication full time in 2016.

A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of SmartMoney, MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, InvestorPlace and DailyFinance. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Senior Executive and Boston magazine, and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among other publications. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and hosted a weekly video segment on equities.

Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.

In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, funds, macroeconomics, demographics, real estate, cost of living indexes and more.

Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.

Disclosure: Dan does not trade stocks or other securities. Rather, he dollar-cost averages into cheap funds and index funds and holds them forever in tax-advantaged accounts.