The listing on Wall Street ended a session of high volatility on Monday, marked by investor concern over the rapid expansion of the pandemic in the United States, and the evidence, acknowledged on Sunday by President Trump himself, that containment measures must remain in force longer than initially provided by the Government. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% shortly after the opening bell rang, but soon those gains narrowed to near neutrality. In the afternoon it recovered ground until closing with a 3.4% rise. The Dow Jones gained 3.2%. Rebounds amid enormous volatility, which analysts believe will be the dynamic again this week on the New York parquet. Both indices have gained more than 15% since the severe falls a week ago, Pedro are still 20% below the peaks reached just over a month ago.
Last week, despite Friday’s losses, it was the Dow Jones’ best since 1938. The week before was one of the worst. After two weeks of extreme ups and downs, analysts do not expect the swings to ease.
On Sunday, Trump announced that the current guidelines for social distancing will last until April 30. Just a week ago, the president went so far as to say that by Easter Sunday, April 12, the country would be “reopened.” “You can destroy a country by turning it off,” Trump said then. “The remedy is worse than the disease.” But this Sunday, he acknowledged that what the experts foresee now is that on those dates it will be precisely the peak of the disease. Hours earlier, the epidemiologist leading the coronavirus strategy at the White House, Anthony Fauci, said the United States will likely end up registering “millions of cases” and “between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths.”
The concern was seen in oil prices, which fell to their lowest levels in 18 years, fearing that the drop in activity will produce one of the largest drops in history in the demand for crude oil.
The distancing measures have caused a sudden drop in activity, have forced the closure of numerous companies temporarily and have sent thousands of workers home. Congress has approved a bailout plan for the economy, of an unprecedented magnitude in history, valued at more than $ 2 trillion. But before the money starts to flow, this Tuesday marks the end of the first quarter of the year, and it will be an opportunity to see if companies can pay their bills. An indicator of how deep the damage of this pandemic will be to the economy. On Friday morning there will also be unemployment figures, although this month the data will be less relevant since they are collected before the most drastic closure measures.
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