The American market has been steadily climbing as investors focus on the recovery; insurance companies are speeding up payments to help hospitals: A roundup of business news from around the world
A nearly deserted public square in the center of Berlin, April 4, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. As governments around the world look ahead to lifting the lockdown orders now in place to halt the spread of the coronavirus, mobile apps are seen as playing an essential role in tracking the movements of those who are infected. (Emile Ducke/The New York Times)
Wall Street resumed its rally on Wednesday. With a more than 3% gain, the S&P 500 is now up about 23% from its March 23 low.
The market has been steadily climbing since it hit that bottom, a rebound that began after the Federal Reserve and lawmakers in Washington took steps to protect the U.S. economy from a collapse amid the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks are still down about 19% from their late February high.
More recently, the gains have reflected hope that the peak of the pandemic in many cities is near, or already past. The growth rate of hospitalizations in hot spots like New York is slowing, China has lifted its lockdown of Wuhan, the city where the virus emerged, and governments in parts of Europe are making plans to do the same.
To some extent, the recent gains also reflect Wall Street’s fear of missing out on the rebound that many analysts predicted would eventually come.
“If you wait until the coast is clear you will have missed a huge part of the gains,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak a trading and asset management firm. “And professional investors can’t afford to do that.”
©2019 New York Times News Service