U.S. stock markets stabilized on Tuesday after G-7 finance members committed to preventing the coronavirus from further damaging the world economy.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell led a conference call with the G-7’s top officials to discuss the coronavirus outbreak, the Treasury said Tuesday morning, and the group released a statement saying that they would “use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable growth and safeguard against downside risks.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened flat Tuesday morning after staging a major bounce back on Monday following huge drops on fears about the effect of the coronavirus the previous week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite fell slightly at the opening bell, 0.24% and 0.078%, respectively.
The G-7 statement said, “Alongside strengthening efforts to expand health services, G7 finance ministers are ready to take actions, including fiscal measures where appropriate, to aid in the response to the virus and support the economy during this phase.”
President Trump has said that he is hoping the Federal Reserve will, by lowering interest rates, lead the U.S. response to stock market jitters and supply chain disruption caused by the spread of the virus.
