Wall Street had another volatile day with three big swings – it opened higher, then fell into the red, traded sideways for a while and then bounced in the final hour to end the session sharply higher, but well short of Monday’s record losses.
The Dow jumped 1,167 points, or 4.9%, to end at 25,018; the S&P 500 ended around 135 points higher, or 4.9%, near 2,882, while the Nasdaq closed around 8,344, up 394 points, or 5%.
Major indexes plunged more than 7% on Monday so Tuesday’s late rebound failed to erase those losses and left traders wondering where to next.
As on Monday, bond markets saw more wild moves in yields. The yield on the key US 10 year bond closed at 0.786%, up from a low of 0.565%.
The yield had risen above 0.80% during trading on Tuesday.
The US dollar rose, pushing the Aussie dollar down to around 64.85 just after 7 am.
Hopes for fiscal stimulus to counter the potential economic impact of the spread of COVID-19 helped the markets on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump said he would seek payroll tax relief and other measures but economists say that controlling the COVID-19 virus is the big question – and when.
The Dow had been up 945 points in the early going but that gain had vanished, the Dow dipped into the red.
The US markets had bumped up briefly after US Vice President Mike Pence said the nation’s big health insurers would cover co-payments for coronavirus testing.
Investors expect to see more big swings until the number of infections from the new coronavirus decelerates, and they also want a big, coordinated response from governments and central banks.
