U.S. President Donald Trump declares the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency as Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar listen during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, March 13, 2020.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump praised the Friday rebound in stocks, which came amid an ongoing bear market stemming from the coronavirus crisis and a day after the worst decline since the 1987 Black Monday market crash.
“Biggest stock market rise in history yesterday!” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.
The S&P 500, the U.S. stock market benchmark, jumped 9.2% on Friday, its biggest climb since October 2008 in the wake of the financial crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 9.4%, also for its biggest gain since October 2008. Its 1,985-point rise was its biggest point gain ever.
The bounce in stocks follows a 10% plunge in the Dow of 2,352.60 points. Thursday’s drop was its worst percentage decline since the 1987 crash and its biggest point decline ever. On Thursday, the S&P 500 plunged 9.5% and entered an official bear market, down more than 20% from its high.
And some believe some other factors were in play to cause Friday’s late bounce, including a short-covering rally where traders betting against the market quickly unwind their bets, artificially fueling the gain.
Even after including Friday’s rebound, the Dow closed lower by 10% for the week and remains 21% below its record level hit in February.
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