The stock market surged on Friday to recover most of its dramatic losses from Thursday, its worst day since 1987, as President Trump announced he was declaring a national emergency as part of his administration’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
After a volatile week saw losses or gains of at least 4.89 percent every session, that trend continued Friday. Markets soared at the opening bell, only to then recede around midday before rebounding over the 30 minutes before the closing bell as Trump spoke from the Rose Garden. The Dow finished up nearly 2,000 points, while the S&P 500 finished up 230.31 points for its best day since 2008 and the NASDAQ finished up 672.43 points.
“This will pass, this will pass through, and we will be even stronger for it,” the president said in his press conference. He announced that up to $50 billion in federal funds would be available to help stem the spread of the outbreak, that interest on federally held student loans would be waived for the foreseeable future, and that the government would begin purchasing large quantities of crude oil for its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Friday’s gains came after a week in which the traders entered a bear market, trading was twice halted after opening-bell sell-offs, and the Federal Reserve pumped $1.5 trillion into short-term markets to help banks offset the economic impact of the pandemic.