by Mary Margaret Olohan
The stock market came roaring back Monday following a steep decline propelled by anxieties over the coronavirus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 5.1% or 1,293 points higher while the S&P 500 rose 4.6% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.5%, CNBC reports. The stocks’ gains come after seven days of losses for both Dow and S&P 500.
Stocks rose sharply at the close after a volatile day of trading. The Dow gained more than 1,100 points, or 5%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose more than 4%. https://t.co/9N2VoIP60P pic.twitter.com/9AnT5qMjEi
— CNBC (@CNBC) March 2, 2020
The Dow Jones surge is the biggest percentage gain since March 2009, according to USA Today, and the largest ever point gain for the blue-chip average.
The surge in stocks comes after stocks sank more than 3,500 points amidst anxieties over the spreading coronavirus. The Dow had sunken more than 1,000 points, according to CNBC.
“The market has been conditioned to buy on any weakness,” portfolio manager at GLOBALT Keith Buchanan told CNBC. “I think we’ll look back at these past few years at some point as some level of complacency.”
“Buying the dip takes more bravery now,” Buchanan added.
Despite government-issued travel warnings and restrictions, the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world. Two people in Washington state have now died from the virus, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that New York confirmed its first case of the virus. The Rhode Island Department of Health also announced the state’s first case of the coronavirus Sunday.
There are at least 89 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments, CBS reports. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken steps beginning Saturday to dramatically expand testing for the virus.
Government officials are preparing for a significant global impact from the virus, according to a Department of Defense document obtained by Newsweek. Officials predict that the coronavirus will “likely” become a global pandemic within a month.
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Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
