I suspect they had to keep a lid on until the stock market closed...
Governments put out bad news late Friday and early Saturday when people are busy with sports and shopping.
Last Saturday in New Zealand a cabinet minister’s resignation was announced in the morning with the PM holding a news conference as the Saturday sports activities got underway.
Nice point!
That might have been the intention but everyone heard the rumor much earlier.
Doesn't matter -- not until the free gambling money ends will there be any return to stocks tracking economic outlook (which is closely tied to geopolitical outlook).