Dow jumps 620 points as Fauci says Gilead trial drug is ‘quite good news’

U.S. stock benchmarks added to strong gains Wednesday afternoon after Dr. Anthony Fauci described data from a drug trial of Gilead Sciences’ GILD, +6.48% remdesivir showed “quite good news,” in treating certain patients stricken with the illness from the novel strain of coronavirus. Comments from the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, at a news conference at the White House come after Gilead’s remdesivir met the main goal in a closely watched government-funded clinical trial treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients but another study, also disclosed on Wednesday, found that the therapy did not lead to clinical improvement in patients in China. Remdesivir is widely considered to be a front-runner among the investigational therapies being tested as treatments for infections caused by the novel coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 2.70% was up 632 points, or 2.6%, at 24,737, the S&P 500 index SPX, 3.05% rose nearly 3% at 2,950, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 3.55% advances 3.6% at 8,914. Of a possible vaccine, Fauci said: “We’re going to have a lot of shots on goal when it comes to vaccines.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-jumps-620-points-as-stock-market-gains-intensify-after-fauci-says-gilead-coronavirus-trial-drug-is-quite-good-news-2020-04-29