Wall Street stages massive rally as coronavirus stimulus hopes grow

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

Stocks posted one of their best days ever on Tuesday, a sign of investor belief that Congress has no alternative than to pass a $2 trillion rescue of a U.S. economy that is on life support.

The massive stimulus is designed to be a lifeline to Americans and their employers until the coronavirus is brought under control and the country returns to some semblance of normalcy. The Federal Reserve signaled the gravity of the situation Monday when, in an unprecedented move, said it would spend whatever it takes to preserve the U.S. financial system.

Markets starved for good news shot upward Tuesday on faith that the stimulus would pass. The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 2,000 points, or 11 percent, and was back above the 20,000 mark. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 9 percent. The Nasdaq composite jumped 8 percent.

“It’s too early to be blindly optimistic, but the size and pace of the policy responses to this crisis are very encouraging,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments. “This is not a time to be heroes calling a market bottom, but we are keeping a close eyes on indications of light at the end of the tunnel.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/24/stocks-economy-senate-stimulus-fed/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. This will in my view likely continue when the package passes

but I plan to fade the second day of this deadest of dead cat bounces. They've backstopped the indebtedness meltdown, but the overleverage remains and the corona virus fallout continues.

People will not go back to work as the pandemic rages. Rushing to restart will only create a massive wave 2 and 3 that will grow for the rest of the year. The numbers are being bandied about on Twitter - hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans will die from this corona virus outbreak. I would argue several million or more. Very very very sad about the controversy in this country. We can't seem to agree that the sky is blue and rain is wet. Everything is a political argument to feed greed.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. All you have to do is look at what is happening in Hong Kong.

Fearing new round of coronavirus, mask-wearing Hong Kong targets barefaced foreigners

Los Angeles Times Christy Choi,LA Times • March 24, 2020


Front page stories in Hong Kong newspapers warn that foreigners, mostly Westerners kissing and carousing in a neighborhood known for its nightlife, are endangering the city with a new round of the coronavirus. "Downfall of the Devil's Den," read one headline, referencing news that at least five confirmed COVID-19 patients had gone drinking in the Lan Kwai Fong district. Hong Kong's health authorities have not confirmed the neighborhood was the source of the outbreak, but a backlash against foreigners has drawn race and culture into the fight to contain the deadly virus.

While domestic infections had dropped in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, a new wave of imported cases is raising tensions between locals and internationals, especially those from Western countries where many citizens are perceived as not taking the pandemic seriously, even as infection numbers rise in Europe and the U.S.

Hong Kong has seen more infections in a week than it has in months, most of them coming from abroad. The number of confirmed infections hit 351 on Monday as people flooded back to the city from the United States, Britain and Europe. Officials fear a new outbreak in the next two weeks could paralyze the medical system.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced this week that city would stop all foreign visitors and transit arrivals. Travelers from Taiwan, Macao and mainland China could still enter, but would be quarantined for 14 days. It was a drastic move for a city that brands itself as "Asia's World City" and relies heavily on tourism. Lam also said they were planning to ban the sale of alcohol in 8,600 bars, restaurants and clubs. The restrictions come after a surge of public opinion in Hong Kong against foreigners frequenting neighborhoods known for nightlife.

https://news.yahoo.com/fearing-round-coronavirus-mask-wearing-160900963.html

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Trump obviously believes warm weather will end the infections in a couple weeks

then he will deny the reality of what is happening and proclaim victory.

Con Man.

[paleotn]

5. What stupidity....

A rally based on what? No one has any idea how badly this is going to hurt corp profits OR what tomorrow will bring with respect to infections. Of course these are the same people who thought property values could only go up, up up! damnit! Touching my face again.

[paleotn]

3. Just checked with COVID-19

Told me it doesn't give a shit. The equal opportunity killer. Markets up, markets down. It kills just the same.

[OilemFirchen]

6. Buy the rumor,

sell the news.

Once this bill passes, the markets have no short-term upside incentive. Additionally, there will be no speculation as to the cost of the stimulus.

[Squinch]

7. Wall Street must be a depository for the dumbest people on earth.

This ain't going away any time soon, stimulus or no stimulus.

[marble falls]

8. See? They don't really need a half-trillion slush fund.

[tclambert]

9. You would think people obsessed with numbers would be better at math.

The number of cases here is still growing exponentially. 50,000+ today, probably 100,000+ Friday (more than China). And possibly a million by two weeks later, maybe as little as 10 days later.

I expect the peak number of active cases to come in June. Then the number will slowly decrease over the following months.