As the Dow plunges 2,000 points, Trump promises markets will be ‘just fine’
Specialists Michael Mara, left, and Stephen Naughton confer as they work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Stocks are closing sharply lower on Wall Street, erasing more than 1,400 points from the Dow industrials, as investors wait for a more aggressive response from the U.S. government to economic fallout from the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Yet Trump is expressing confidence, at least outwardly, about the market despite staggering losses suffered in recent weeks.
“The markets are going to be just fine,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House.
His comments came after Wall Street experienced such severe selling that the New York Stock Exchange halted trading for 15 minutes Thursday, the second market timeout in four days.
The S&P 500 plummeted into bear market territory after Trump announced a travel ban with Europe. If the index closes there, it would mark the end of the 11-year bull market.
The market plunge has been driven by fears that the coronavirus pandemic will set off a recession. Trump is urging lawmakers to quickly enact a stimulus package of tax cuts and other assistance aimed at limiting the economic damage.
