Coronavirus economic updates: Dow spikes more than 1,600 points

The coronavirus pandemic has quickly evolved from a health crisis to a financial one, shuttering businesses, upending entire industries and sending financial markets reeling.

Here's the latest news on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the economy. For more on financial resources available during the pandemic, click here.

Dow spikes more than 1,600 points as markets rebound Monday

U.S. financial markets spiked Monday, likely on hopes that the COVID-19 outbreak was nearing its peak in certain parts of the U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by 1,627 points or 7.7%. The S&P 500 spiked 7% and the Nasdaq was up 7.3%.

In New York -- the state hit hardest by the pandemic -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the rate of death has been "effectively flat for two days."

Cuomo said the total number of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and daily intubations are down, which "suggest a possible flattening of the curve."

While New York may have reached the apex of coronavirus infections, what happens next "still depends on what we do," Cuomo added.

One of the best performers for the Dow Monday was Boeing, which saw double-digit gains.

Monday's rally comes after weeks of steep losses as the coronavirus-induced sell-off continues on Wall Street.

Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles plans to restart U.S. manufacturing operations on May 4

The automaker announced Monday it intends to "progressively restart its U.S. and Canadian manufacturing facilities beginning May 4."

"During this current production pause, we are working with government officials and our unions to implement new procedures to certify the daily wellness of our workforce while also redesigning work stations to maintain proper social distancing and expanding the already extensive cleaning protocols at all locations," FCA said in a statement.

It emphasized that it will only restart operations with "safe, secure and sanitized workplaces to protect all of our employees."

FCA is one of the first automakers to announce plans to re-open manufacturing facilities in the U.S. that have been shuttered as a result of the pandemic.

CVS announces free, rapid COVID-19 tests for all in Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island partnered with CVS Health to make "free, rapid COVID-19 tests available to all Rhode Islanders," CVS announced Monday.

The tests will be available by appointment at a new drive-through testing site at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Approximately 1,000 tests can be done per day.

"Today marks a giant leap forward in our efforts to combat this virus," Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement. "Thanks to the partnership and generosity of CVS Health, we will be able to double our testing capacity and provide on-the-spot results to thousands of Rhode Islanders each day. Making testing rapid and readily available is the key to slowly reopening our economy, and today we are one step closer to that goal."

JPMorgan Chase CEO predicts a 'bad recession' at 'minimum'

In a letter to stakeholders published Monday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the pandemic could lead to a "bad recession."

“We don't know exactly what the future will hold -- but at a minimum, we assume that it will include a bad recession combined with some kind of financial stress similar to the global financial crisis of 2008,” Dimon wrote.

He also detailed an "extremely adverse scenario," which assumes "an even deeper contraction of gross domestic product, down as much as 35% in the second quarter and lasting through the end of the year."

In that scenario, U.S. unemployment levels could continue to climb, possibly even "peaking at 14% in the fourth quarter," he predicted. He warned investors that the bank's earnings "will be down meaningfully in 2020" even though JPMorgan entered the crisis "in a position of strength."

He concluded that his "fervent" hope for the country is that Americans will come together to tackle these new problems.

"We have the resources to emerge from this crisis as a stronger country," he said.

Apple to make face shields for health care workers

CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple will manufacture face shields for health care workers amid the pandemic.

"We’ve launched a company-wide effort, bringing together product designers, engineering, operations and packaging teams, and our suppliers, to design, produce and ship face shields for health workers," Cook said in a Twitter announcement Sunday.

He said the first shipment was sent to the Kaiser Hospital facilities in California's Santa Clara Valley and "the feedback from doctors was very positive."

"We plan to ship over one million by the end of this week, and over one million per week after that," Cook added.

Cook said employees have also been able to source over 20 million face masks from their supply chains around the world, "and we’re working continuously and closely with governments at all levels to ensure these are donated to places of greatest need."

"For Apple, this is a labor of love and gratitude," he said of the company's efforts amid COVID-19.

Finally, Cook urged everyone to do their part to help stop the spread of the virus by staying home and practicing social distancing.

US financial markets spike early Monday

U.S. financial markets started the week off by rallying sharply on Monday morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average opening up more than 850 points, or approximately 4%.

The S&P 500 spiked 3.8% and the Nasdaq was up 3.7%.

The rally comes as investors welcomed some signs over the weekend that the COVID-19 outbreak was nearing its peak in certain parts of the U.S.

In New York, the number of deaths in the state dropped from the previous day and Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested the state could be "near the apex" of the crisis.

"We’re looking at this seriously now because by the data we could be very near the apex or the apex could be a plateau and we could be beyond that plateau right now," Cuomo said at a news conference Sunday. "We won't know until we see the next few days, does it go up or does go down, that’s what the statisticians will tell you today."

Cuomo also said the total number of hospitalizations in the past 24 hours fell to 574 from a high of 1,412 just five days ago.

He said the downward trend was "partially a function of more people being discharged," and that 75% of the people who have gone into the hospital system have recovered and have been discharged.