[New York Close] Rebound on Economic Reopening Optimism

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market managed to close higher despite the occurrence of 5.24 million new unemployment claims.

On the 16th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33.33 points (0.14%) to close at 23,537.68, the S&P 500 index increased by 16.19 points (0.58%) to 2,799.55, and the Nasdaq closed up 139.19 points (1.66%) at 8,532.36.

Although the New York market was affected by the news of massive unemployment claims released before the opening, it succeeded in a late-session rebound on expectations of economic activity resuming.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that new unemployment claims last week decreased by 1.37 million from the previous week to 5.245 million. The total number of unemployment claims over four weeks amounts to about 22 million. CNBC described this as equivalent to all jobs created since the global financial crisis being wiped out.

However, the fact that new unemployment claims did not increase significantly beyond the market expectation of about 5 million, and showed a decrease of over 1 million compared to the previous week, somewhat improved investor sentiment.

The market rather focused on the economic reopening guidelines announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. President Trump announced via Twitter that he would release new guidelines at 6 p.m. after the market close.

According to CNN and others, the new guidelines will allow some non-essential businesses such as restaurants to operate while maintaining social distancing. School closures are expected to remain in place. It is also reported that no specific reopening date will be mentioned.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on the same day that the shutdown order for non-essential businesses would be extended until May 15, but some states like Idaho are showing positive responses to limited economic reopening.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on the same day, May delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $19.87 per barrel, unchanged from the previous day. Gold prices recorded $1,731.70 per ounce, down 0.5% ($8.50).