Asian shares are steady in quiet Good Friday trading after Wall Street closed out its best week in 45 years thanks to the Federal Reserve’s titanic effort to support the economy through the coronavirus crisis, The Associated Press informs.
Many regional markets were closed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% lower to 19,326.78 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 2,814.52. In South Korea, the Kospi inched 0.1% higher to 1,838.47. Shares also rose in Taiwan and Malaysia.
Overnight, the U.S. central bank announced programs to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to households, local governments and businesses as the coronavirus outbreak tips the country into what economists say may be the worst recession in decades.
The Fed’s actions completely overshadowed a government report that another 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week. Stock investors expected such dismal numbers, and some are looking ahead to a possible reopening of the economy.
“It looks like the Feds are on a mission to blow holes in every dam that stops the flow of credit. And it sure sounds like they have plenty more dynamite if needed,” Stephen Innes of AxiCorp. said in a commentary.
The stock market is not the economy, and that distinction has become even more clear this week. For the week, the S&P 500 jumped 12.1%, its best performance since late 1974. U.S. markets will be closed for Good Friday.
Stock investors are continuously looking ahead to where the economy will be a few months or more in the future, which largely depends on the state of the coronavirus pandemic and on mass shutdowns meant to contain it, AP added.
“The market is solely focused on the number of cases,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The question is when can the restrictions be lifted? That’s what the market is focused on, when does America open up for business again?”
The S&P 500 rose 39.84 points to 2,789.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2%, to 23,719.37, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.8% to 8,153.58.
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