U.S. stocks posted their best weekly gain in more than four decades on Thursday, buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s surprise announcement it would provide $2.3 trillion of funds through its lending programs to support the broader economy.
Data showed another 6.6 million Americans claimed unemployment benefits in the latest week but the disappointing news on the labor market was offset by the Fed’s lending announcements, including its unrolling of the $600 billion Main Street Lending program for small and medium sized businesses.
Investors’ hopes increased that the situation around the coronavirus was improving. In recent days, the number of new daily confirmed cases has dropped globally and in the U.S., virus hotspot New York state also reported a decline in its virus-related hospitalization rate. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. economy could be re-opened in May.
A proposed agreement emerged from a virtual meeting on Thursday in which OPEC+ outlined a deal to cut oil production by 10 million barrels a day.