On the same day economists declared the recession official, US stocks surged, erasing their 2020 losses. So, it’s a bit of a bad-news-good-news kind of day. Let’s get into it.
Recessions have historically sneaked in slowly, creeping into the economy so subtly it takes the better part of a year to even realize we’re in one. This time, the recession landed with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball, shattering the longest economic expansion in American history and punching the nation into its worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression.
The corona-recession officially began in February, just before the US issued widespread stay-at-home orders, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced Monday.
Oh, and the World Bank expects the global economy will contract 5.2%, making this the worst global recession in 80 years.
Heckuva way to start the week, huh?
The worst of it may be behind us already
Jobs are coming back and people are cautiously beginning to travel again — more on that later. Wall Street is firmly embedded in Camp Optimism.
US stocks rallied again on Monday, pushing the Nasdaq to an all-time high and the S&P 500 into positive territory for the year, signaling growing optimism about the pace of recovery after Friday’s better-than-expected jobs report.
The Dow finished up 461 points, or 1.7% higher. The S&P 500 ended up 1.2%, erasing its losses for the year. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 1.1%, its first record close since February.
The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday — we’ll get to see what other tricks Jerome Powell has up his sleeve to help keep the ship afloat.
