Top Things to Know in the Market on Thursday, April 30th

• 2020-04-30
• Traiding Idea

US GDP fell 4.8% in the first quarter.

According to U.S. government data released Wednesday, the gross domestic product fell 4.8 % in the first quarter, the biggest contraction since the financial crisis.

Economists had forecast that the US GDP would fall by 3.5% in the first quarter.

This was the first negative growth in US GDP since the 1.1 % decline in the first quarter of 2014 and has been unprecedented since the negative growth of 8.4 % in the Q4 of 2008 during the worst of the financial crisis.

The biggest causes of the downturn in the U.S. economy have been a sharp drop in consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and inventories.

In the United States, The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.21 % to 2,4633.86.

The S&p 500 surged 2.66 %, to 2,939.51 while The Nasdaq composite advanced 3.57%, to 8,914.71.

Germany faces the worst recession since WWII. 

Europe's leading economy, Germany, has been hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic and is facing its deepest recession since World War II.

According to Economy Ministry projections released on Wednesday, the German economy will shrink by 6.3% this year after a decade of growth.

The outlook is slightly more optimistic than the International Monetary Fund predicted earlier this month. The IMF had predicted a 7% contraction in Germany's economic growth.

After crossing the lowest point of the recession in the second quarter of this year, economic activity is expected to improve in the second half of the year, and the gross domestic product ( GDP ) may jump by 5.2% in 2021.

" We are faced with great challenges, both economic and political, and despite the devastating effects of the virus on the German economy, we must not rush to lift the restrictions on public life," said Peter Altmeier, Germany's economy minister.

The Coronavirus pandemic has so far cost the German government $ 1.1 trillion, as the government has taken unprecedented measures to support the economy.

In European stock markets, the FTSE 100 index climbed 2.63 % and closed at 6,115.25. 

French CAC 40 index advanced 2.22 % to closed at 4,671.11.

Also, Germany's DAX 30 index surged 2.89 % to 11,107.74.

In Spain, the IBEX 35 index rose 3.21% to 7,055.70.

Asian stocks jump on hopes of coronavirus treatment.

Stocks in Asia rose on Thursday following overnight positive developments on a new potential treatment for Covid-19.

In Asian stock markets, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 4.54% and closed at 20,268.83.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong soared 4.41% to 24,643.59.

China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.12% and ended at 3,910.35.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 2.39% to 5,522.40.

Among other major Asian indices, TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Price Index) was up.

Oil prices rise on some signs of pick up in fuel demand.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, lifted by signs that oil supply in the United States was not growing as quickly as expected, and demand for fuel was rising.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) futures surged 12.09%, to settle at $16.88 per barrel. Brent crude futures jumped 7.5% to $24.23 per barrel.