https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/13/stocks-spike-as-president-trump-declares-national-emergency/

President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration, which began just a half hour before the market closed, pushed stocks higher Friday, providing at least temporary relief to shares that have been throttled this week on fears of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump detailed several measures under the national emergency declaration, including freeing up federal resources that states can access as they respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 is a disease caused by a new virus that is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. The spread of the disease has prompted governments and  companies to cancel tech, business and automotive events around the world.