Kameleon007/iStock(NEW YORK) — The coronavirus pandemic has quickly evolved from a health crisis to a financial one, shuttering businesses, upending entire industries and sending financial markets reeling.
Here’s the latest news on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the economy. For more on financial resources available during the pandemic, click here.
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US financial markets see early gains
U.S. financial markets ticked up slightly at the start of Wednesday’s trading session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all saw gains of just over 1%.
Investors are welcoming some signs that the pandemic could be nearing its peak globally. China lifted the lockdown on Wuhan, the city where the first cases of the novel coronavirus emerged. Spain announced plans to gradually ease lockdown measures, with the country’s finance minister, Maria Jesus Montero, saying at a press conference Tuesday night that “citizens will be able to get back to their normal life” starting April 26.
The U.S. remains among the worst affected countries, with nearly 400,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19, according to data compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
Earlier in the week, authorities expressed hope that the rate of infections was possibly plateauing in some of the hardest-hit areas. In New York, the state most impacted by the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there was a “possible flattening of the curve” on Monday after the total number of hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and daily intubations were down.
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