Business Notes: Dow Jones Shows Signs Of Life Before Dropping

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In today's Business Notes, the optimism from yesterday carried over to Tuesday, at least for a while on Wall Street.

At one point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by more than 900 points, but it could not hold those gains.

Just about everything on Wall Street is still tied to the coronavirus, and there are mixed signals.

On the negative side, both Nissan and Honda announced they are laying off a combined 24,000 workers until at least May 1.

And we may also see some major changes in the workplace once the economy begins to revive.

In an interview with me today, Gus Faucher, the chief economist at PNC, said he expects to see a lot of structural changes in the economy.

"I think we're going to see more people working from home," Faucher said. "I think we're going to see more flexible workplace arrangments. We'll see more video conferencing and perhaps less in-person travel."

Congress is set to take up a measure on Thursday that will add another $250 billion to the aid package for small businesses.

That is on top of the $350 billion already approved.

By the time closing bell sounded on Wall Street this afternoon, the 900 points to the upside evaporated and it was a losing day.

Here are the closing numbers for the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a loss of 26 points.

The Nasdaq was also down 26 points for the day.

And, the S&P 500 declined by 4 points.