Reuters / Lucas Jackson
- US stocks climbed Friday in a bounce back from the worst single-day drop since 1987.
- All three major indexes extended gains in late trading as President Donald Trump’s address appeared to at least temporarily calm investor nerves over coronavirus.
- Equities rallied earlier in the day on hopes of fresh economic stimulus from the White House.
- Stimulus was also enacted globally. Central banks in Norway, Japan, and Australia cut interest rates, bought government bonds, or took other measures.
- S&P 500 futures soared more than 5% to reach their upward trading limit early Thursday.
- Watch all major indices update here.
US stocks climbed sharply Friday as investors clawed back from the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s worst single-day drop since 1987. The final leg up for stocks came as President Donald Trump delivered an address in an attempt to calm nerves about the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump’s speech – which saw him declare a national emergency and featured a renewed focus on virus testing – added to early-day gains. Investors have been worried about the negative economic fallout from coronavirus, but the president’s comments appear to have temporarily addressed that.
That early strength came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Congress and the Trump administration were nearing an economic stimulus deal on Thursday night. President Donald Trump also hinted at what the package might include in a Friday-morning tweet, although full details have yet to be released.
Here’s where major US indexes stood as of the market close on Friday:
It was a volatile day that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average surge more than 1,200 points immediately after the market open. The index then nearly erased all gains around midday, then ripped higher once again into the close.
Stimulus was also enacted globally. Central banks in Norway, Japan, and Australia cut interest rates, bought government bonds, or took other measures.
In premarket hours, S&P 500 futures contracts soared more than 5% to hit their upward limit in early trading, which halted trading until the market open.
Global stock markets saw mostly gains following Thursday’s chaotic session. Germany’s DAX rose 0.8%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 2.5% and the Euro Stoxx 50 increased 1.6%.
The Dow tanked 10% on Thursday – it’s biggest single-day decline since 1987 – as investors balked at President Trump’s European travel ban and failure to issue a fiscal policy response to the coronavirus’s economic threat.
Selling kicked off so heavily that a 15-minute marketwide trading halt was instituted within the minutes of the open. When trading resumed, the S&P 500 joined the Dow in bear market territory and cemented the end of stocks’ 11-year bull run.
The Federal Reserve’s announcement of unprecedented liquidity injections briefly lifted stock prices early Thursday afternoon. The central bank policy will add $1.5 trillion to the financial system by the end of the week and continue throughout March. Equities quickly pared gains following the press release and closed near intraday lows.
Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:
