Dow surges 900 points on latest signs that the coronavirus death rate is slowing around the world
- All three major US indexes jumped on Monday after countries reported declines in new coronavirus deaths over the weekend, offering investors new hope for near-term containment.
- Spain and Italy announced the fewest deaths in more than two weeks, while New York posted its first single-day decline in new virus deaths on Saturday.
- Oil pared overnight losses after Russia's sovereign wealth fund's chief signaled that the country was nearing a deal with Saudi Arabia to cut production and cushion the sliding commodity market.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks soared on Monday after countries reported declines in new coronavirus deaths over the weekend.
European markets led the charge, gaining after Spain and Italy announced the fewest deaths in more than two weeks. France and Germany reported their fewest deaths in days, signaling that the outbreak may be reaching its peak overseas.
New York posted its first single-day decline in new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, offering new hope for the virus's US epicenter after weeks of social-distancing measures and business closures. The White House also offered a slightly more hopeful tone during a Saturday press conference, highlighting signs of slowed contagion in highly affected areas.
Here's where major US indexes stood at 10:45 a.m. ET on Monday:
- S&P 500: 2,598.25, up 4.4%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 21,977.00, up 4.4% (924 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 7,708.76, up 4.6%
Monday's stock-market rebound followed a negative week to kick off April. Major indexes slipped roughly 2% during the period as labor-market data trounced even the most bearish forecasts. Thursday's jobless-claims report notched a record and brought the two-week total of Americans filing for unemployment to 10 million.
Data released by the Labor Department on Friday revealed that the US had lost 701,000 jobs in the month ended March 14. Economists anticipated a decline of roughly 100,000, as the report didn't include jobs lost after the strictest containment measures went into effect.
The end-of-week reports offered investors some of the first details about how hard the virus outbreak slammed the US and how deep the economy would slide into an all-but-certain recession.
Elsewhere on Monday, the much-beleaguered oil market slid 5% after declining as much as 11% overnight on news that a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia had been postponed. The resource pared losses after Russia's sovereign wealth fund's chief said the two nations were nearing a deal to cut production.
The commodity soared last week after President Donald Trump said he expected both nations to deescalate their efforts to flood the market with cheap oil.
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