White House touts stock market advances, jobs report as US businesses reopen
McEnany said the markets "clearly have confidence in President Trump"
Economic gains made as the country reopens after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown were touted by White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany during Monday's press briefing.
"The stock market is absolutely soaring," McEnany said. "We saw with the S&P that it had its greatest 50-day rally in history. The Dow likewise is also booming."
The markets "clearly have confidence in President Trump" after Friday's jobs report, she said, as 73 percent of America's businesses have reopened and visits to workplaces are up 40 percent from pandemic lows, according to McEnany.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a news conference, Monday, June 8, 2020, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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The U.S. Labor Department reported a lower-than-expected 13.3 percent unemployment rate in the May jobs report, which sown from April's unemployment rate of 14.7 percent. An estimated 21 million Americans are out of work, with the leisure and hospitality sector being the hardest hit.
Nevertheless, the jobs report coming in better than economists expected was a "great stride" towards the "rearing economy" the country had before the pandemic, McEnany noted.
"We were at a very good place before he chose to stop the economy to save 2.1 million lives potentially. So he took the action that was necessary at the time," McEnany said. "He thinks that Q4 will be good, next year will be great."
But McEnany also acknowledged that the president expects a long economic recovery ahead.
"Monday was a great, unexpected note that the market believes in this president, that employers believes in this president, that they believe they can open their doors in the Trump economy," McEnany said. "So it was a note of a great first step of progress but rest assured there are many more steps that we have to take to get back to the hottest economy in modern history, but we will get there under President Trump"
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In addition, she noted that the administration will not rule out more potential coronavirus relief.
In the next potential stimulus bill, McEnany said the president would like to see a payroll tax holiday that "directly advantages low income workers" but stressed that he doesn't want a bailout for states.
"He is certainly still open to a phase 4," McEnany said. "But it can't be, as he's noted, just state and local bailouts for blue states that have run their states into the ground."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 39453.08 | +65.32 | +0.17% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 16334.907927 | -11.36 | -0.07% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5218.7 | +4.62 | +0.09% |
At the end of Monday's trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 461 points, the NASDAQ closed up more than 110 points, and the S&P 500 closed up more than 38 points.