U.S. markets and stock exchange traded funds rallied Tuesday on rising optimism over a reopening economy as the country tries to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
On Tuesday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 4.1%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) rose 2.3%, and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) gained 2.7%.
The equity markets have been strengthening on signs the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic is slowing in some of the worst-hit areas, with two groups of governors beginning discussions this week on how to gradually ease social-distancing guidelines and remove lockdown restrictions, but no dates have been set yet, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“This is a continuation of what markets have been betting on for a while now: that we’re moving past the peak of the virus, past the worst part of the problem and into recovery mode,” Sebastien Galy, a macro strategist at Nordea Asset Management, told the WSJ. But at the same time, “with earnings season coming in, people are also worried about what will be uncovered.”
However, the U.S. will still have to tackle a slowing economy as over 16 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the past three weeks after businesses were forced to shut down to slow the spread of the virus.
The International Monetary Fund also stated that the global economy is almost certainly in a recession, and the IMF chief economist warned that the downturn this time around will be worse than the previous global financial crisis.
As banks kicked off the earnings week, investors got a glimpse of the impact the coronavirus has had on U.S. companies. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both reported steep losses in the first quarter as they take out billions of dollars for potential losses on loans.
“I’d say, generally, this is going to be an ugly earnings season, but people were expecting an ugly earnings season,” Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede, told the WSJ. “Generally, these reports are coming in line with where people are expecting them to be.”
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