Wall Street rallied on Friday, bouncing firmly back after the worst day for markets since the Black Monday crash in 1987.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by around 1,200 points, with the S&P and Nasdaq surging by around 5 percent each.
The boost in stocks came after lawmakers and the White House appeared closed to finalizing an economic relief package to address the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think we’re very close to getting this done. The president is absolutely committed that this will be an entire government effort, that we will be working with the House and Senate,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC Friday morning.
“We’re going to get through this and the economy will be stronger than ever,” Mnuchin said. “By the end of the year, I think you can expect we’re going to have a big rebound in economic activity.”
Friday’s rally follows a massive meltdown, with Thursday marking the official end of the longest bull-market run in history. The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5 percent and the Dow tumbled by 10 percent.
“There are no guarantees here, and things could get worse,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, told CNBC. “If the number of cases continues to increase, the economic damage will go from hitting confidence to something worse. If the economy deteriorates, markets will reflect that shift.”