In this Jan. 3, 2020 file photo, the Wall St. street sign is framed by U.S. flags flying outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Global stocks are down, Friday, April 3, after the U.S. government said employers cut 701,000 jobs in March as they shut down or sharply curtailed business due to the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Stan Choe
Stocks jumped in early trading on Wall Street Thursday after the Federal Reserve launched its latest unprecedented effort to support the economy through the coronavirus outbreak.
The central bank undertook actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to households, local governments and small and large businesses as the country tips into what economists say may be the worst recession in decades. It’s the latest massive move by the Fed, which has been rushing to ensure cash can get to parts of the economy that need it after lending markets got snarled earlier by a rush among investors to pull cash out of the system.
The stock market is not the economy, and that distinction has become even more clear this week. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9% in early trading Thursday, the same day the government announced 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs sweep the nation.
That’s because stock investors are continuously looking ahead a few months to the future. They sent stocks down by a third from mid-February into late March, before the economy really began to crunch.
And in recent weeks, they’ve sent the market back up more than 20% following the massive aid promised by the Fed, other central banks and governments around the world, even as evidence piles up that the fears of a recession were prescient. This week, some investors have also begun to look ahead to the possibility that parts of the economy could reopen amid signs the outbreak may be peaking or plateauing in several of the world’s hardest-hit areas.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 455 points, or 1.9%, to 23,879, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq was up 1.5%.
The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of more than 12% for the holiday-shortened week. That would be its best performance since 1974. U.S. stock markets are closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
