U.S. stocks rose for the third time in four days as investors looked past staggering jobless numbers when the Federal Reserve released new measures to cushion the fallout from the coronavirus. The dollar weakened and crude oil extended gains.
The S&P 500 Index gained as much as 2 per cent, bringing this week’s increase to more than 12 per cent. The Fed announced another series of sweeping steps to provide as much as $2.3 trillion in additional aid just as data showed the number of claims for unemployment benefits in the world’s largest economy surged for a third week.
“Investors take comfort in the fact they feel like the Fed has their back,” said Dan Russo, chief market strategist at Chaikin Analytics. “If you take that in conjunction with some of the Covid 19 numbers appearing to be on the right track, that’s led to a decrease in pessimism.”
Canada shares rose Friday despite a record plunge in employment in the country and another surge in jobless claims in the U.S.
The Federal Reserve announced another series of steps that will provide as much as $2.3 trillion in additional aid. The measures will see the Fed give help to small and mid-sized businesses as well as state and local governments.
Oil trading remained volatile in advance of an OPEC+ meeting to discuss huge production cuts.
The S&P/TSX Composite index was up 2.5 per cent in Toronto at 9:49 a.m. Health care, consumer discretionary and materials were the best performing sectors.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose while government bonds in the region gained amid reports that Italy, Spain and the U.K. may extend lockdowns to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Most Asian stocks rose, though Japanese shares retreated. Oil futures climbed as the OPEC+ coalition continued efforts to agree a deal to trim production.
The surprise pledge from the Fed to buy recently downgraded corporate bonds boosted some of the biggest ETFs tracking the securities. The $14.8 billion iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF surged the most since January 2009.
With files from Reuters
