Stock markets on Friday opened to slight gains in an attempt to break a losing streak that started last week and saw markets retreat from bubbly all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened up 150 points, or 0.5 percent, and the S&P 500 opened up 22 points, or 0.7 percent. The NASDAQ was up 100 points, or 1 percent.
The opening followed a wild day of trading on Thursday that saw markets open to gains, only to fall dramatically during the day.
Stocks have taken a wild ride in recent weeks, closing out one of the best Augusts on record and breaking beyond pre-pandemic highs, only to falter amid fears of an overvalued bubble fueled by record low interest rates.
In the real economy, the unemployment rate has fallen from a post-pandemic high of 14.7 percent in April to 8.4 percent in August. The jobless rate previously had not been that high since December 2011.
Economists have expressed worries over the slowing rate of recovery for an economy struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. Congress has also failed to pass a new relief package, leaving expanded unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium and other help for millions of people to expire.
Democrats and Republicans appear unlikely to reach a compromise on a bill before November’s elections.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats blocked a $600 billion GOP relief bill, complaining that it was far too scaled back. Senate Republicans have refused to take up the $3 trillion relief bill the House passed in May.
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