Two narratives have been battling for the market’s attention in recent days. The first is a developing concern over a potential “second wave” of virus cases in many of the U.S. states that reopened their economies around Memorial Day. The second is a Federal Reserve that by all indications is more accommodating than ever; the central bank recently began buying individual corporate debt to shore up liquidity and facilitate easier access to capital.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day down 170 points, or 0.7%, to close at 26,119. The more tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, eked out a gain, ticking up 0.2%.

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Hertz halted, stock sale suspended. Rental car company Hertz (ticker: HTZ ), which has already filed for bankruptcy, had been seeking to take advantage of somewhat bizarre market conditions through a $500 million stock issuance.

Shares of the company, which had gotten down to around 40 cents apiece, bizarrely surged to the $6 per share range in early June, and now trade for around $2 a share. The company has suspended its new share offering after catching public heat for issuing stock that has a high likelihood of becoming totally worthless and after the Securities and Exchange Commission raised questions over the offering.

HTZ stock was briefly halted during Wednesday’s session before resuming afternoon trading.

H&R Block stumbles. H&R Block ( HRB ) finished as the worst performer in the S&P 500 on Wednesday after the tax preparation giant announced dramatically lower revenue and profits in its fiscal fourth quarter – the one in which the now-extended April 15 tax filing deadline falls.

Revenue came in at $1.81 billion last quarter, missing analyst expectations for $1.84 billion. Net income careened lower to $460.4 million, off almost 50% from the $877.9 million it earned in the same quarter a year ago.

Shares of H&R Block finished 9.5% lower on Wednesday.

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Raymond Mitchell, Author

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