Depression

The U.S. stock futures showed signs of recovery after a loss last week on the positive sentiment over the anticipation of economic recovery in 3Q as Fed’s chairman stated Sunday. The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in CBS “60 Minutes” on Sunday night, expecting that the US economy could plunge as much as 30% in the second quarter, but expected a recovery to start in the second half of 2020. “I think you’ll see the economy recover steadily through the second half of this year,” said Powell. When he was asked whether the U.S. is headed for a “second depression,” he replied, “I don’t think that’s a likely outcome at all. There are some very fundamental differences.” He said that there were differences between the Great Depression and actual economic recession as the cause of this downturn is not an asset bubble or another asset bubble or another associated more fundamental reason but rather a self-induced economic freeze brought on by efforts to combat the coronavirus. As of 14:45 local time in Thailand, Dow Jones Futures rose 342 points or 1.45% to 23,859 points, while S&P 500 Futures hiked 1.44% and Nasdaq Futures advanced 1.34%.