Trump’s speech to address the coronavirus crisis sparked chaos and confusion in industries and markets across the US. Dow Jones Index lost 9.9 points whereas the S&P 500 lost 9.5 points by close of the markets.
The spread of coronavirus in the US has disrupted the rhythm of life in the country. The crisis has already claimed 39 American lives so far and 1323 cases have already been confirmed in 45 states plus Washington, District of Columbia.
Coronavirus crisis across the US
The spread of the virus has already resulted in losses from the Dow Jones Industrial index which, in the past few weeks, has had a number of 1000 points losses. The uncertainty in the markets called for reassurance from the President, who set out to reassure investors and Americans the government was doing everything to resolve the coronavirus crisis.
The presidential address started by stating, “The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared or more resilient than the United States.”
The stock markets have taken a beating from the virus fallout with S&P 500 losing over 7 points today, causing the New York Stock Exchange to suspend trading for fifteen minutes. The markets continued to fall and closed at 9.5 for S&P 500 and 9.9 points for Dow Jones Index. This was partly due to the President’s speech which ended up causing more confusion and not having the intended outcomes he may have expected.
Presidential address
The President unveiled measures to calm the markets, which included assuring workers who will self-quarantine if suspected of having the virus of getting payroll tax cuts. He also banned air travel by individuals coming from Europe to the US.
In his Twitter account, Trump said the air travel ban from Europe would not affect Americans coming back from Europe. He also clarified that the ban was only for people and cargo coming from Europe would gain access to the US.
He continued by praising the economy and reiterating that the market plunge was just temporary. He said the economy would recover once the coronavirus is resolved and assured citizens there was nothing to worry about since the virus was not as dangerous as the media was describing it.
The move to ban all flights from Europe from coming to the US while carrying passengers caused instant chaos as massive cancellation of transatlantic flights were canceled. The assurance that the market would return to normal also did not quell the nervousness of the investors.
The stock market continued on its downward trend with investors becoming worried about losing their investments. The assurance from the President that this was not a crisis and was just temporary ended up having no effect on these investors.
The coronavirus crisis has become a thorn to the US economy and its people. The government is coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to carry out tests and quarantine those affected and also stop the virus from spreading further.
Featured image by Pixabay
