- Drop upends a historic three-day gain driven by optimism that a government stimulus package could help America’s economy weather the fast-spreading outbreak
- This week’s 3-day run had seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average recover more than 20 per cent of its recent losses
US markets plunged on Friday morning, upending a historic three-day gain that was driven by confidence that the government's massive rescue package could help America's battered economy weather the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 850 points, or 3.8 per cent, right off the bat. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq composite fell 3 per cent.
The drop is a sobering reminder that investors' anxiety is far from being soothed by the US$2 trillion package that was passed by the Senate on Wednesday and now awaits expected approval by the House of Representatives on Friday.
As lawmakers rush to make the legislation final, the pace of the coronavirus epidemic accelerated across the country as well as the globe.
The US now has the world's highest number of confirmed cases, surpassing China, where the virus was first reported. As of Friday morning, total US cases had exceeded 86,000 and deaths had surpassed the 1,300-mark, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, total confirmed cases topped 550,000. The number was at 400,000, just three days ago.
On Thursday, the US Labour Department reported that a record 3.3 million Americans had applied for unemployment benefits during the week that ended on March 13. Economists forecast the worst is yet to come in terms of job losses.
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