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Dow soars 1,000 points after $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus deal reached

Ben Winck   

Dow soars 1,000 points after $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus deal reached
Stock Market2 min read
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
  • US stocks climbed on Wednesday after the White House and the Senate reached an agreement overnight on a $2 trillion relief package.
  • The bill includes payments for Americans, unemployment-benefit expansions, and loans for businesses hit by the economic slump.
  • The gains followed the Dow Jones industrial average's best day since 1933. The benchmark index soared 11% in Tuesday's session as investors bet on a near-term deal for fresh fiscal stimulus.
  • Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks climbed on Wednesday after the White House and the Senate reached an agreement overnight on a relief package to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The roughly $2 trillion relief package would expand unemployment benefits, push funds to hospitals and healthcare workers, issue emergency loans to both small and large businesses, and send checks to Americans; the bill calls for $1,200 payments for adults and $500 for each child.

About $50 billion is allocated for loans for airlines, an industry hit particularly hard by the pandemic and the sudden halt to travel.

Here's where the major US indexes stood at 12:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday:

Read more: The 'trade of the century': 2 hedge-fund managers break down a simple investing strategy built to profit from the wreckage caused by the coronavirus outbreak

The gains followed the Dow's best day in 87 years. The benchmark index soared 11% through Tuesday's session as a fiscal deal neared. The Federal Reserve had already issued monetary support through rate cuts, asset purchases, and new credit facilities.

The Senate stimulus package would more directly put money in the hands of ailing businesses and consumers as the outbreak risks near-term economic recession.

Oil traded lower on Wednesday morning after turning lower in the previous session. The commodity has been under pressure in recent weeks as Saudi Arabia and Russia flood the market with fresh inventory and drive prices near two-decade lows.

Now read: Morgan Stanley studied decades of recession history to compile a playbook for what to buy during and after a stock bear market - and when to do it

More markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Trump and Pence reportedly talked with a handful of Wall Street giants to get their view on how coronavirus is reshaping markets and the economy

The Fed's cannonball into bond markets drove $1 billion into the world's biggest credit ETF in a single day

Morgan Stanley studied decades of recession history to compile a playbook for what to buy during and after a stock bear market - and when to do it

BI Banking


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