MTS Help Center

- U.S. Major indices on Friday –

Wall Street’s main indexes fell more than 1.5% on Friday as the coronavirus abruptly ended a record U.S. job growth streak of 113 months, intensifying fears of a deep economic slowdown.

Even the loss of 701,000 jobs that Labor Department data showed for March did not completely capture the economic damage from the virus. The survey considered data only until mid-March, before widespread U.S. lockdowns put more people out of work.

The worldwide spread of the virus has forced billions of people to stay indoors and pushed entire sectors to the brink of collapse, triggering mass layoffs and dramatic steps by companies to raise cash.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 360.91 points, or 1.69%, to 21,052.53, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 38.25 points, or 1.51%, to 2,488.65 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 114.23 points, or 1.53%, to 7,373.08.

The S&P 500 closed down almost 27% from its mid-February record high close, or about $7 trillion in market value, and economists have cut their forecasts for U.S. GDP, with Morgan Stanley now predicting a 38% contraction in the second quarter.

· Dow soars 1,600 points as growth rate of new coronavirus cases appears to slow

Stocks jumped on Monday, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous week, as the number of new coronavirus cases in the U.S. appeared to slow down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,627.46 points higher, or more than 7%, at 22,679.99. The S&P 500 gained 7% to close at 2,663.68 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 7.3% to 7,913.24. The major averages rallied to their session highs in the final minutes of the session, with the Dow briefly trading more than 1,700 points higher.

Last week, the major averages posted their third weekly decline in four. The Dow slid 2.7% while the S&P 500 lost 2.1%. The Nasdaq Composite closed last week down 1.7%. Stocks are also deep in bear-market territory as concerns over the coronavirus outbreak have virtually shut down the global economy and have dampened sentiment around corporate profits.

Investors were soothed by data over the weekend that shows a slowing in the number of daily U.S. coronavirus cases, although it is still early to determine a lasting trend. Death tolls in some of the world’s coronavirus hot spots, including Spain and Italy, showed signs of easing. New York state, the hardest-hit region in the U.S., also reported its first decline in daily confirmed deaths on Sunday.

· Stock futures fall slightly following sharp rebound on hopes pandemic is stabilizing

Stock futures fell slightly in overnight trading on Monday, following a steep rebound in the previous session, as investors grew more hopeful that the peak in coronavirus cases could be reached soon.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped about 70 points, implying a 140-point loss at Tuesday’s open. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq futures also traded slightly lower.

Stocks surged on Monday as a slew of coronavirus headlines pointed to a potential stabilization in the U.S. The Dow soared 1,600 points, posting its third biggest point gain ever. The S&P 500 jumped 7% to its highest level since March 13. With Monday’s rally, the S&P 500 bounced about 20% from its 52-week low on March 23.

· European markets close sharply higher, cheered by gradual slowdown in coronavirus cases

European markets closed sharply higher Monday as the rate of new coronavirus infections appeared to slow in the region.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 3.75% higher, with autos stocks climbing 9% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses ended in positive territory.

Stocks were buoyed by data showing the rate of new coronavirus infections and deaths in the region was slowing.

Italy, which was the epicenter of Europe’s pandemic before Spain overtook it in terms of the number of cases, reported its lowest daily COVID-19 death toll for more than two weeks on Sunday, Reuters noted.

In Spain, the rate of new infections and deaths continued to decline, and Germany reported a slowdown in the rate of new cases on Sunday for the third day in a row.

· Japan stocks surge 3% as hopes rise on slowing coronavirus spread

Stocks in Asia jumped in Tuesday morning trade on rising hopes as the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic appeared to slow.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 3.09% in early trade while the Topix index gained 2.66%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 2.18% as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 2.57% after the firm said its first-quarter profit was likely $5.2 billion, slightly above expectations.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 2.1%. The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its interest rate decision at about 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.73% higher.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC