US markets end sharply higher amid stimulus optimism

03 Mar 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended sharply higher on Monday with Dow Jones Industrial Average scoring its biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly 11 years, as stocks bounced back sharply from the previous week’s selloff, with the rebound fueled by expectations that policy makers will move to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the global economy. Expectations the Federal Reserve and other central banks will move to ease policy were credited with helping to fuel a rebound in global equities. However, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast that the global economy would grow by 2.4% in its best case scenario, compared with 2.9% expansion projected before the viral outbreak. The global death toll from COVID-19 stands at more than 3,000, while health officials in Washington state on Monday said there have been four more deaths from the outbreak, bringing the total to six.

On the economic data front, construction spending in the US jumped by much more than expected in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The Commerce Department said construction spending surged up by 1.8 percent to an annual rate of $1.369 trillion in January after inching up by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of $1.346 trillion in December. Street had expected construction spending to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month. The bigger than expected spike in construction spending reflected sharp increases in both private and public construction spending. Meanwhile, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed US manufacturing activity saw a slight expansion in the month of February. The ISM said its purchasing managers index edged down to 50.1 in February from 50.9 in January, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Street had expected the index to dip to 50.5.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,293.96 or 5.09 percent points 26,703.32 Nasdaq gained 384.8 points or 4.49 percent to 8,952.17and S&P 500 was up 136.01 points or 4.6 percent to 3,090.23. 

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