narvikk/iStock(NEW YORK) — U.S. financial markets saw some stabilization Thursday after Wednesday’s steep selloff as the coronavirus crisis continues to upend Wall Street.
Despite opening approximately 2% down Thursday morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by a fraction of a percentage point around midday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq similarly were both up by slightly less than 1% and 2%, respectively, during intraday trading.
While the equity markets exited their free fall, Thursday’s gains hadn’t yet compensated for Wednesday’s steep losses, when the Dow closed down by more than 1,300 points, or 6.28%, as volatility amid the coronavirus pandemic continued.
The Dow on Wednesday fell below 20,000 for the first time since February 2017, and at one point, trading was briefly halted after the S&P 500 fell below the 7% threshold. The S&P 500 lost 5.17% for the day.
The sharp fall and ongoing volatility comes even after the Federal Reserve has pulled out all the stops to help boost the economy during the COVID-19-induced uncertainty. The Fed announced approximately half a dozen different actions it would take in the past week, including everything from slashing interest rates and launching a short-term lending facility.
The coronavirus pandemic has also pushed the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq into bear market territory. In just weeks, all three indices tumbled roughly 25% from February highs.
Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, described the recent volatility as “a market that has nothing to hold onto to steady it.”
“The economic data won’t show anything positive for quite a while, and markets can’t really give any credible outlook on earnings right now,” he told ABC News Wednesday.
While the markets may bounce around based on the headlines, he added that “it’s unlikely to bottom until we see that peak in new virus cases, so we just don’t know when that will be.”
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.