[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The US New York stock market continues to show an unstable trend, alternating between rises and falls every other day.
On the 5th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.58% (969.58 points) to 26,121.28, the S&P 500 index dropped sharply by 3.39% (106.18 points) to 3,023.94, and the Nasdaq closed down 3.1% (279.49 points) at 8,738.60.
Recently, the New York stock market has been showing extreme volatility amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). On this day, the Dow index fell more than 1,100 points intraday, showing the exact opposite of the previous day's 1,200-point rise.
On this day as well, news of a sharp increase in COVID-19 patients in the US was reported, and the market weakly expanded its losses. In New York, the economic center of the US, the number of confirmed cases overnight increased to 22, and new confirmed cases across the US have been emerging, expanding fears of COVID-19 spread day by day.
Although the US Senate passed an $8.3 billion emergency budget bill following the House of Representatives the day before, signaling active government-level responses, it is insufficient to calm the market's anxiety.
The preference for safe assets is intensifying. In the US Treasury market on this day, the 10-year Treasury yield entered the 0.8% range intraday, continuing an unusual strength. When 'Bond King' Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, said, "The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may cut rates again in March," the US Treasury yield widened its decline.
The economic indicators released on this day were also negative. The US Department of Commerce announced that factory orders in January decreased by 0.5% compared to the previous month, significantly missing the expert forecast of a 0.1% decrease.
The US Department of Labor reported that the final figure for nonfarm productivity in the fourth quarter of last year rose by 1.2% annualized (seasonally adjusted) compared to the previous quarter, lower than the previously announced preliminary figure of 1.4%. The number of initial jobless claims announced by the Department of Labor last week was 216,000 (seasonally adjusted), down 3,000 from the previous week, exceeding the market expectation of 215,000.
International oil prices were weak for the second consecutive day. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), April delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed down 1.9% (0.88 dollars) at $45.90 per barrel. April delivery gold rose 1.5% (25.0 dollars) from the previous day to $1,668.0 per ounce.
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