US Stocks Markets Close Higher Despite Weak Economy

US stocks closed higher on Friday, despite mounting evidence of the coronavirus pandemic's deep damage to the American economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.1 percent at 23,775.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.4 percent to end at 2,836, while the Nasdaq finished 1.7 percent higher at 8,634.

However Wall Street finished the five-day stretch negative overall, with the Dow losing 1.9 percent over the course of a week that began tumultuously as the US benchmark oil price crashed into negative territory for the first time as traders tried to unload futures contracts amid a supply glut.

Labor Department data released on Thursday showed the coronavirus cutting deeply into employment, with the number of new jobless claims rising to around 26 million since mid-March.

Meanwhile the Congressional Budget Office on Friday predicated the US economy would contract by 12 percent in the second quarter, with the unemployment rate hitting 14 percent.

And with the near total shutdown of airline travel, the Commerce Department reported that new orders for durable goods plunged 14.4 percent, largely driven by cancellations of orders for Boeing aircraft.

Karl Haeling of LBBW said there was no clear reason for why stocks nonetheless staged a mild rally on Friday after a flat finish the day before.

However it seemed traders had grown used to the gloomy forecasts and were heartened by Congress's passage of a bill providing an additional $483 billion of government funds to rescue small businesses.

"The market is now comfortable with the second quarter being absolutely horrible," he said. "It's a time issue about when the activity will start back up." (AFP)