NEW YORK (Sputnik) – Wall Street’s main stock indexes rose about 2 percent or more on Wednesday morning as investors looked beyond a record US economic decline in the first quarter to focus instead on reopening of businesses shuttered by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the relative success of trial drugs for the virus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest equities gauge on the New York Stock Exchange, was up 1.9 percent at 24,550 by 10:35 a.m. (14:35 GMT). The S&P 500, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks, gained 2.3 percent to 2,929. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 3 percent to 8,867.
Stocks rose amid hopes for economic repair from the reopening of business in 14 US states that are home to more than 95 million people. Most of the 50 states in the United States were placed on lockdown over the past six weeks in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Gilead Science, which is working on a cure for the virus, said a stage 1 trial of its retroviral drug called Remdesivir had shown improved symptoms in patients who were given the drug early.
The US economy shrank by a record 4.8 percent in the first quarter of the year as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses since mid-March, dealing the world’s largest economy its sharpest decline since the Great Recession, according to the Commerce Department.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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