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Stocks soared on Thursday even as the U.S. reported its worst unemployment numbers in 50 years of tracking data.
The pain felt on Main Street was offset for investors by the federal government opening its wallet to Wall Street, businesses and (at some point) workers in the form of the $2 trillion stimulus package designed as a response to business closures as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Details of the plan and its implications for startup companies are still being assessed, but the spigot is now on for businesses large and small to avail themselves of low-interest stimulus loans and financing that should keep them afloat even as prolonged shutdowns look to continue in the nation’s most populous cities.
Here’s the tale of the tape:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: jumped 6.38%, or 1,351.62, to close at 22,552.17
- S&P 500: popped 6.24%, or 154.51, to close at 2,630.07
- Nasdaq Composite: bounced 5.60%, or 413.24, to close at 7,797.54
Tech stocks followed the broader markets and posted gains on the day. Facebook was up nearly 4.5% and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) was up 5.5%. Shares of Apple were up over 5% as well, and Amazon rose 3% on the day.
