The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked higher to start Wednesday after Congress agreed to a $2 trillion "wartime" stimulus package aimed at supporting the U.S. economy during the coronavirus crisis.
Read for more on the Senate's agreement with the White House...
First, here are the numbers from Tuesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
20,704.91
+2,112.98
+11.37
S&P 500
2,447.33
+209.93
+9.38
Nasdaq
7,417.86
+557.18
+8.12
Now, here's a closer look at today's most important market events and stocks. We'll also discuss the stories that slipped under the radar of the mainstream financial press Wednesday.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Wednesday
A "wartime level of investment into our nation" is what Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has called the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill expected to pass through Congress on Wednesday. After nine days of negotiation, both Chambers of Congress reached a historic deal to provide relief to American workers and companies in the coronavirus outbreak. Optimism about the deal pushed the Dow to its best one-day rally since 1933. A whopping 62% of stocks rallied at least 20% during Tuesday's trading session.
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The coronavirus is still spreading at a rapid pace around the globe and shows little signs of slowing down. Johns Hopkins University reports a confirmed 400,000 cases around the world, including more than 50,000 in the United States. More than half of all cases in the U.S. are in New York state, where the spread continues. Yesterday, the White House said all people who have left Manhattan in the last week should self-quarantine for 14 days. Japan has agreed to suspend the 2020 Summer Olympics for one year given the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus around the globe.
Finally, U.S. President Donald Trump is facing intense blowback over his push to reopen the U.S. economy after the Easter Holiday. Despite warnings from medical professionals that the U.S. has not flattened the curve on the coronavirus outbreak, Trump said that he is weighing options to get America back to business. The president said that the decision would be "based on hard facts and data" and focus on the "safety and well-being of our citizens." The suggestion has prompted stark criticism among Democrats.
Stocks to Watch Today: NKE, BA, FB
Shares of Nike Corp. (NYSE: NKE) popped more than 12% yesterday after the company released third-quarter earnings reports and said it would not release a guidance report for the year ahead. CEO John Donahoe said that the company is seeing a bit of a recovery from the coronavirus fallout in China. That said, the firm topped revenue expectations at $10.10 billion. Analysts had expected bottom-line results of $9.8 billion.
Shares of Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) popped another 4% after President Trump announced that he wouldn't let Boeing go out of business due to the economic disruption flared by the global coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with FOX News, Trump pledged temporary help to the nation's largest manufacturer of aircraft.
Shares of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) are on the move after the social media giant reported it has experienced significant weakness in its advertising business. It reported that certain markets around the globe are taking aggressive steps to curb the coronavirus outbreak. That said, the firm did report a 50% jump in messaging usage in places most affected by the virus.
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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.