Follow the Story
NYC mourners share memories of Pope Francis and reflect on his 2015 Big Apple visit: ‘Amazing soul’
When Pope Francis became pontiff: A timeline his religious journey and career
Teen admits to ISIS-inspired terror plot to kill Pope Francis
MSG unveils exhibit chronicling Pope Francis’ visit
How the Pope healed me
Pope’s Philadelphia Fiat sold at auction for $82K
Wall Street could use a miracle — and whaddya know, the pope’s in town.
Investors are praying Pope Francis’s speech Friday before the United Nations will lift the fallen stock markets, which are poised to decline for a second week in a row.
If he delivers, the stock market would also snap an 11-week streak of alternating up-and-down weeks.
Markets have risen during the last four times a pontiff has addressed the UN’s General Assembly since 1965. The average papal pop was 1.2 percent the day of his address. The last time, when Pope Benedict XVI appeared on April 18, 2008, the Dow rose 1.8 percent — the biggest gain yet.
The blue-chip stock index would need to rise more than 183.26 points, or 1.1 percent, on Friday for the week to end in the green. This year hasn’t been a great one for markets, with the Dow down 9.1 percent.
Pope Francis reviving the market’s spirit is “a lot to ask, but not a miracle,” S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt wrote in a report.



