· Dow jumps 360 points on virus treatment hope, Netflix leads Nasdaq to another record
Stocks rose Friday as news about a potential coronavirus treatment increased hope for an economic recovery following the outbreak. Tech stocks also continued their winning week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 369.21 points higher, or 1.4%, to 26,075.30. The S&P 500 climbed 1%, or 32.99 points, to 3,185.04. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%, or 69.69 points, to another record closing high of 10,617.44, lifted by Amazon and Netflix.
Gilead Sciences said its coronavirus treatment candidate, remdesivir, showed an improvement in clinical recovery and a 62% reduction in the risk of mortality compared with standard care. The news sent Gilead shares up more than 2%. BioNTech’s CEO also told The Wall Street Journal the company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate could be ready for approval by December.
Over-loved tech?
SentimenTrader.com notes that about three-quarters of Nasdaq stocks are above their 200-day moving average, the shorthand definition of a longer-term uptrend, while only about 40% of S&P 500 names are in that position. This gap in breadth is either rare or unprecedented:
The Nasdaq 100 has pushed more than 22% above its 200-day average, according to Baycrest Partners’ Jonathan Krinsky, the most extreme spread with the index at a high since 2000.
And the S&P tech sector has returned to its peak price-to-sales ratio from the March 2000 tech-bubble market top.
· Dow futures rise 150 points as investors shake off a continued spike in coronavirus cases
Stock futures rose in overnight trading on Sunday as investors looked past a record spike in coronavirus cases in Florida.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 160 points, pointing to a 180-point gain at Monday’s open. The S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5% each.
· European markets close higher as Italian and French industrial data surprises
European markets closed higher Friday as data showed French and Italian industry output rebounding more strongly than expected in May.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed up by 0.8%, autos adding 2.3% to lead gains as all sectors except health care advanced into positive territory.
Having begun the session in the red, markets across the continent received a boost after data showed Italian industrial production jumped 42.1% in May from the previous month, as the country emerged from lockdown, outstripping the median forecast of 22.8% by analysts polled by Reuters.
French industry output climbed by 19.6% in May, surpassing economist expectations of a 15.1% rise. France only began lifting its comparatively strict lockdown measures on May 11.
· Asia Pacific stocks jump as investors shrug off rising coronavirus cases
Stocks in Asia traded higher on Monday morning as investors shrug off concerns over the rising number of coronavirus cases stateside.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 1.34% in early trade as shares of conglomerate Softbank Group and robot maker Fanuc jumped more than 2% each. The Topix index also advanced 1.44%. South Korea’s Kospi gained0.6%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.44% as shares of major banks such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac surged more than 2% each.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.24% higher.
The World Health Organization on Sunday reported a record daily rise in global coronavirus cases, according to Reuters. Stateside, Florida on Sunday reported more than 15,000 new coronavirus infections — the highest single day total to date for any U.S. state since the pandemic began in the country.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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