Dow pulls itself back above 20,000, rises 1% in choppy trading

U.S. markets remain testy as the Dow Jones industrial average Thursday extended its streak of 1,000-point swings to nine sessions. The blue chips clawed into the plus column—rising nearly 1% on the day—as investors digested various government formulas aimed at limiting the economic damage from the coronavirus.

The Dow rose 188 points, or 0.95%, to close at 20,087. Other major indexes also advanced, with the S&P 500 climbing 11 points, or 0.47%, to close at 2,409, and the Nasdaq Composite jumping 160 points, or 2.3%, to close at 7,151.

Markets twitched all day following overnight announcements of a 750 billion euro bond-buying program by the European Central Bank to blunt economic pain in the euro zone and a special Federal Reserve backstop for money market mutual funds, typically a risk-free place for investors to store cash. This is the Fed’s seventh major emergency action this week.