scorecard
  1. Home
  2. stock market
  3. news
  4. US stocks close at record highs on renewed hopes for fast-tracked virus treatments

US stocks close at record highs on renewed hopes for fast-tracked virus treatments

Ben Winck   

US stocks close at record highs on renewed hopes for fast-tracked virus treatments

US stocks jumped on Monday amid new optimism for a near-term coronavirus treatment and cooling US-China tensions. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes closed at record highs.

Investor sentiment was first lifted on Sunday evening after the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19. The method hasn't proved effective against the virus in clinical trials, and its approval follows calls from President Donald Trump to fast-track treatment approvals.

Separately, the Financial Times reported Sunday that the White House was mulling an emergency use authorization for AstraZeneca's experimental drug. Such an action would bypass regulatory standards and could introduce a vaccine into the US market before November's presidential election.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET close on Monday:

Read more: UBS analyzed how 900 stocks perform on positive COVID-19 vaccine news days — and concluded that these 17 are poised to jump at least 9% on the next cycle of encouraging headlines

The S&P 500 topped its closing record from last week on the back of better-than-expected economic data and strong earnings from retail giants including Home Depot and Target.

Falling new COVID-19 cases also lifted outlooks among market participants. New US cases reached 34,567 on Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The reading is down from 44,572 the day prior and is the lowest daily addition in more than two months. Daily new cases have landed below 50,000 for nine days straight.

Investors also enjoyed a reprieve from rising tensions between the US and China. Bloomberg reported Sunday night that the White House had reassured companies they could continue doing business with Tencent-owned WeChat in China even after the app is banned in the US.

Read more: RBC says buy these 48 stocks spanning every industry that are poised to crush the market if Donald Trump wins reelection

Senior officials in the administration realized a blanket ban would have a major influence on the tech, communications, and gaming industries, among others, according to Bloomberg.

Tech giants led the market higher, with Apple climbing to another record high. Microsoft, Facebook, and Alphabet also gained.

Travel stocks including Delta Air Lines, United, and Carnival Cruises jumped on news of the potential treatments. Cruise and airline stocks have similarly rallied on hopes for a sooner-than-expected vaccine, as such a drug would likely boost travel demand to near its pre-pandemic high.

Read more: Morgan Stanley breaks down 3 reasons stocks could be headed for a short-term correction as the market gets dragged higher by a few big winners

Gold briefly rose back above $1,960 per ounce before sliding into an intraday loss. The precious metal surged above $2,000 earlier in August but tumbled soon after as investors secured profits.

Oil rose as well amid the fresh economic-recovery hopes. West Texas Intermediate crude gained as much as 1.3% to $42.89 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 1.9% to $45.18 per barrel at intraday highs.

Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Stocks are making their most extreme moves in 20 years — and one quant expert warns the COVID-19 crash was a preview of more 'wild swings' to come

80% of economists see a chance of a double-dip recession, survey finds

Hedge funds and mutual funds are split on the elite group of FAAMG stocks — and that's led to a big performance gap

READ MORE ARTICLES ON



Popular Right Now



Advertisement