US equity markets suffered another round of sharp selling albeit the benchmark indices rallied off their lows in the final minutes of trading after the Senate passed a bill Wednesday to expand paid leave and unemployment benefits in response to the coronavirus pandemic - Dow dropped -1,335-points or -6.29% to 19,898.92 trading down as much –2,320points or ~11% to 18,917.46 and below the levels the index was trading at a day before Donald Trump was inaugurated as President (i.e.19,732.40 on 19 January, 2017). It also marked the first close below <20,000 for the Dow since February 2017 (with the index dipping below 19,000 during the session). The Dow Jones remains about 1,400 points above its level on 7 November, 2016, a day before Trump won the US presidential elections. At its record close on 12 February, 2020 (29,348.03) the index had gained more than >60% since that date.
