The Dow Jones closed significantly above 29,500 points, up 0.94%.
–
The main indices of the New York Stock Exchange reached new levels on Wednesday, market players being less worried about the economic consequences of the new coronavirus.
Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, took 0.94% to finish at 29,551.42 points.
The highly technological Nasdaq gained 0.90% to 9,725.96 points, and the S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, rose 0.65% to finish at 3 ” 379.45 points
The toll of the viral pneumonia epidemic now exceeds 1,100 deaths. But the number of new daily cases has declined over the past three days, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Health released Wednesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Welcomed What He Called “Positive Evolution”
“If the contagion rate slows down, it’s good for the markets,” said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.
The coronavirus epidemic, officially dubbed “Covid-19”, was among the topics discussed by the head of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Jerome Powell, who spoke to American senators Wednesday, the day after his hearing by the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.
The president of the American Central Bank said he was confident about the state of the economy of the country, stressing in particular the solidity of the job market.
Powell noted, however, that wage growth remains weak and that the number of Americans with two or more jobs is very high.
Lyft dives
Investors were also reassured, according to Volokhine, by the results of the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday, where socialist Bernie Sanders came out on top before Pete Buttigieg.
“Wall Street believes Sanders has no chance against Donald Trump. He is in the lead in the race for the Democratic Party’s White House reassures the markets, “Volokhine said, adding that many brokers anticipate that the markets will continue to rise if Donald Trump is re-elected in November.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate of American debt increased, standing at 1.633% around 9:35 p.m. GMT against 1.601% the day before at the close.
Among the values of the day, the CVS pharmacy chain lost 0.14% despite better than expected quarterly results.
Teva climbed 9.1%. For the third year in a row, the Israeli giant of generic drugs has yet published results in the red. But earnings per share excluding exceptional items, a reference to Wall Street, was in line with analysts’ expectations, at 2.40 dollars, and its forecasts for 2020 have remained broadly unchanged.
Lyft fell 10.2%. The car reservation platform with driver certainly posted better results than expected Tuesday after the close. But unlike Uber, which said it expected its first positive gross operating surplus in the fourth quarter of 2020, Lyft has not made a clear path to profitability.
Carnival gained 2.6%. The cruise line announced on Wednesday that the coronavirus will have a significant impact on its results, which had not been previously anticipated. Viral pneumonia has forced the group to suspend operations in Chinese ports and is now forcing it to cancel trips to other Asian countries.
–
