[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The US stock market, which had plummeted due to concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has this time succeeded in a sharp rebound.
On the 2nd (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,703.32, up 1,293.96 points (5.09%). This is the largest increase since 2009. The Dow index rose for the first time in 12 trading days.
The S&P 500 index rose 136.01 points (4.60%) to 3,090.23, and the Nasdaq index rose 384.80 points (4.49%) to 8,952.17, also joining the upward trend.
The rise in the indices on this day is attributed to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s emergency statement last Friday expressing the Fed’s determination to respond to the market plunge caused by COVID-19, as well as similar remarks from the central banks of Europe and Japan, which served as momentum.
In the market, there is widespread expectation that the Fed will lower the benchmark interest rate from the current 1.50?1.75% to 1.00?1.25% by 0.50 percentage points at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 18th. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch tool fully reflects a 100% possibility of a 0.50 percentage point rate cut at the March FOMC.
By stock, Apple led the Dow’s rise with a 9.3% increase. Apple had recently recorded a drop of about 20%, but succeeded in rebounding with the rise on this day.
International oil prices also rebounded significantly. On this day at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), April delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $46.75 per barrel, up 4.5% ($1.99) from the previous trading day. Expectations of additional production cuts ahead of this week’s Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting also played a role.
International gold prices also rose. April delivery gold rose 1.8% ($28.10) from the previous trading day to $1,594.80 per ounce.
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