· Dow soars over 11% in strongest one-day performance since 1933
The Dow soared on Tuesday to its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933, after U.S. lawmakers said they were close to a deal for an economic rescue package in response to the coronavirus outbreak, injecting optimism following the biggest selloff since the financial crisis.
All three main U.S. stock indexes rebounded strongly from Monday’s brutal selloff as the coronavirus outbreak forced entire nations to shut down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI soared 11.37% to end at 20,704.91 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX jumped 9.38% to 2,447.33. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rallied 8.12% to 7,417.86.
Senior Democrats and Republicans said they were close to a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus bill, aimed at providing financial aid to Americans out of work and help for distressed industries.
The expected legislation adds to aggressive action announced by the Federal Reserve in recent days, including purchase of corporate bonds and announcing that the U.S. central bank will make direct loans to companies.
Investors were also pleased after President Donald Trump said on Monday he was considering how to restart parts of business life when a 15-day shutdown ends next week, even as the highly contagious virus spreads rapidly and poorly equipped hospitals struggle with a wave of deadly cases.
Data on Monday showed U.S. business activity hit a record low in March, bolstering expert views that the economy was already in a recession.
Traders were still weighing the uncertainty of the path of the coronavirus outbreak.
· European markets close 7.5% higher on Fed stimulus, Italy virus slowdown
European markets closed sharply higher Tuesday on the back of stimulus measures from the U.S. Federal Reserve the day before, and as the number of new coronavirus cases in Italy slowed for a second day.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 7.5% provisionally, with the insurance sector surging 14.2% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses ended in positive territory.
· Japan stocks soar 5% as investors await US coronavirus stimulus deal
Stocks in Asia Pacific soared in morning trade on Wednesday following dramatic gains overnight on Wall Street as investors await the announcement of an enormous stimulus deal by U.S. lawmakers.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan led gains among major markets in the region, adding 5.03% as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing gained 5.41%. The Topix index rose 4.45%.
South Korea’s Kospi also saw robust gains as it jumped 3.87% while the Kosdaq index added 3.43%.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 soared 4.08% as the sectors mostly traded higher, with the heavily weighted financial subindex gaining more than 5% as shares of major banks advanced.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 1.21% higher.
Investors will await developments stateside, with U.S. lawmakers closing in on a massive fiscal stimulus bill worth $2 trillion to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, though talks could stretch into Wednesday morning as the two parties continued to work through the text and hash out final details.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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