Stimulus hopes bolster Wall Street after worst session since 1987
(Reuters) – Wall Street clawed back losses on Friday from its biggest declines in three decades, as investors bet on more fiscal stimulus to thwart a coronavirus-driven global recession.
All three main indexes jumped more than 6% in early trade before paring gains on reports President Donald Trump was set to declare a national emergency to contain the spread of the deadly pathogen.
The indexes were still 25% below their record highs hit mid-February and were on track for their biggest weekly declines since the 2008 financial crisis.
“There is a lot going on in the market right now and we need the backing of the government more than we already have,” said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management in California.
“We all agree that this virus is both a supply shock and a demand shock, but eventually we will get out and we’ll be fine.”
The optimism was reflected across global equity markets, with the MSCI world index .MIWD00000PUS gaining ground after plunging into a bear market on Thursday. [MKTS/GLOB]
All the main S&P 500 sub-indexes were trading higher, with financial stocks .SPSY rising 6.7% as expectations of further liquidity measures by the Federal Reserve pushed up Treasury yields. [US/]
Oil also looked set to end the week on a bright note, rising about 3% after a near-collapse in prices on Monday due to a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY added 0.7%. [O/R]
Expectations are now running high for U.S. Democrats and Republicans to agree on a fiscal aid package.
At 1:25 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 851.60 points, or 4.02%, at 22,052.22, while the S&P 500 .SPX was up 94.42 points, or 3.81%, at 2,575.06. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 251.92 points, or 3.50%, at 7,453.72.
Travel stocks, hammered in the rout, were trading higher with the S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR up 6.4%.
Hotel operators Marriott International Inc (MAR.O), Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT.N) and Hyatt Hotels Corp (H.N) advanced between 1% and 4%.
Boeing Co (BA.N) jumped 7.5% but was still on track for its worst weekly slump in history on rising concerns about the company’s growing cash burn.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) rose 5.7% and was among the top boosts to the benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow, as the iPhone maker said it would reopen all 42 of its branded stores in China.
Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW.N) jumped 14.3% after the brokerage reported the strongest start to a year, driven by heightened market volatility.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 3-to-1 on the NYSE and about 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 117 new lows, while the Nasdaq logged one new high and 612 new lows.
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