Reuters
- US stocks gained on Wednesday as investors cheered a continued slowdown in new US coronavirus cases and the White House’s early plans for economic recovery.
- The gains come after Tuesday’s wild reversal that saw all three major US indexes erase sharp early gains and close lower.
- The Trump administration announced overnight it plans to reopen economies in smaller cities and towns less harmed by the outbreak before allowing larger, heavily hit cities to resume regular activity.
- Oil continued to slide as traders hold their breath for the upcoming OPEC+ meeting to offer new details on a price-war truce.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks gained on Wednesday as traders mulled Tuesday’s market whipsaw and President Donald Trump’s early plans for economic recovery.
Investors continued to buy risk assets amid hopes of coronavirus cases slowing throughout the US. The number of daily reported cases has fallen since Friday’s highs, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
The White House announced overnight it plans to first reboot the nation’s economy in smaller cities and towns less affected by the outbreak before reopening larger and heavily hit cities. The plan is still in development but gives investors the first signs of how the crippling economic shutdown could come to a close.
Here’s where major US indexes stood shortly after the market open at 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 2,686.11, up 1%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 22,888.78, up 1% (235 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 7,973.79, up 1.1%
Equities closed Tuesday’s session with mild losses after surging more than 3% in early trading. All three indexes jumped into a technical bull market Tuesday morning before reversing gains. Stocks have moderately rebounded from late March lows as slowing virus cases and trillions of dollars in government stimulus eased concerns of economic collapse.
WTI crude oil climbed roughly 3% as investors continued to monitor for developments in a price-war truce. Production hikes and price cuts between Saudi Arabia and Russia have pushed oil’s price near two-decade lows.
An upcoming meeting between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia, and other producers may usher in the first major de-escalation in the global conflict.
The US slashed its oil production forecast through 2021 on Tuesday to boost demand amid the virus-driven supply glut. The Energy Information Administration sees the price of Brent crude averaging out to $33 per barrel through 2020 before rebounding to an average $46 per barrel the following year, according to a Tuesday release.
The EIA also expects the US will become a net importer of oil by the third quarter of 2020 for the first time since 2019. The country will return to a net-exporter status in 2021, the agency added.
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