Weekly News Summary for March 13-19, 2020

Friday, March 13, 2020: US Stocks Hit New Highs, Dow Up Over 1,900 Points

US stocks rallied into the close to hit their biggest daily gains since October 2008 on Friday, after US President Donald Trump announced a national emergency to counter the coronavirus.

Recovering from Thursday’s highest one-day slump since the 1987 market crash, the Dow surged 1,981 points or 9.3%, while the S&P 500 climbed 9.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 9.3%.

Monday, March 16, 2020: Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate to Nearly Zero

The Federal Reserve employed another emergency measure on Monday to ease concerns in global financial markets, reducing its benchmark interest rate to nearly 0% and resuming broad asset buying to secure liquidity.

The central bank said it will buy $500 billion of US Treasury bonds and $200 billion of agency debt, without revealing a timeframe for its purchases, while it also plans to expand and cut the cost of dollar swap facilities with five other major global central banks.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020: Philippines Halts Trading in Financial Markets

The Philippines became the first country to halt trading in financial markets in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement to place all of the Luzon islands under enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Manila bourse, which has lost about one-third since the virus began to make headlines in mid-January despite the government’s ordering state pension funds to support the stock market, triggered a circuit breaker last week after dropping 10% for the first time since 2008.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020: Oil Prices Reach Fresh Lows on Lockdown Concerns

Oil prices dropped for the third session on Wednesday, with US crude futures reaching an 18-year low and global benchmark Brent falling to more than a 16-year low, as travel and social lockdowns to fight the coronavirus reinforced the possibility of the sharpest yearly decline in oil demand.

WTI crude futures dropped around 12% to $23.70 after posting its lowest since April 2002 at $23.60, while Brent crude futures shed over 7% to $26.70, having slipped as low as $26.66 per barrel to mark as its lowest since late 2003.

Thursday, March 19, 2020: US Dollar Extends Gains as Investors Flee to Cash

The US dollar extended gains against major currencies on Thursday, as extreme market volatility and concerns over a tightened liquidity due to the coronavirus pandemic shifted investors’ attention to cash.

The greenback climbed 1% against the British pound to $1.507, nearing its strongest since at least 1985, while it inched up 2% to an 11-year high against its New Zealand counterpart and added 1% against the Australian dollar to reach a 17-year high.