For investors, there’s only one thing that matters – and that’s the deadly coronavirus. The global pandemic continues to throw traders for a loop as its effects, both in terms of society and the economy, are still widely unknown. However, this week, traders were optimistic about the virus on several fronts.
It appears from scientific data that the outbreak may be slowing in most hard-hit areas. Investors cheered as Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus, was given the “all clear.”. Elsewhere, the number of cases has also seemed to flatline.
At the same time, traders cheered another round of stimulus from the Federal Reserve and work by Congress on the next bailout/rescue package. Here again shows signals that the government is looking to fight the outbreak with fiscal and monetary policy, which would help keep the economy out of the dump. A mixed data and earnings picture also gave traders hope that the virus would not affect the economy as much as initially feared.
As a result, stocks spent much of the week trending higher on the good news. Albeit, volatility remained high.
Be sure to check out our previous Wrap here, when the second quarter started off rocky.
