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Wall Street Sees Big Day Following Record Retail Sales

PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 4:35 pm
by NewsReporter
VOA - World News


Wall Street ended Tuesday with big gains after the government reported the biggest monthly jump in retail sales in history, combined with news from Britain of a potential coronavirus treatment. 


The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 527 points – a 2% gain. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were also 2% higher. 


At one point Tuesday, the Dow was up more than 700 points after the government reported that retail sales in May grew at a record 17.7%, as more and more businesses emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns. 


"Looks like a big day for the stock market and jobs!" President Donald Trump tweeted.  


Investors were also cheered by news from Britain that a widely available steroid can help critically ill coronavirus patients and cut hospital deaths by a third. 


That news also sent European stocks soaring, with major indexes in London, Frankfurt and Paris all up 3%.  


Asian markets also bounced back from big losses Monday.  


Tokyo's Nikkei index was up 5%, while Sydney was 4% higher and Hong Kong climbed nearly 3%.