U.S. markets posted significant gains at the closing bell in New York, reflecting traders’ optimism about a post-COVID recovery. Test results for a new drug, remdesivir, also showed potential to help patients recover from the disease.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.21% or 532 points to close at 24,633.
The S&P 500 rose 2.66%, or 76 points and closed at 2,939, while the Nasdaq climbed 3.57%, or 307 points, to close at 8,914.
European markets also traded higher Wednesday, as countries on the continent begin relaxing measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
London’s FTSE index led the way, trading 2.63% higher at the end of the day, while Paris’s benchmark index, the CAC 40, closed 2.22% higher. Germany’s DAX posted a 2.89% gain Wednesday.
The daily upswing began in Asia, with the indexes in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Sydney all closing with gains. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index was closed due to a national holiday.
Oil prices also are recovering, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude trading at $15.40 per barrel, almost 25%, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at close to $23 per barrel, an increase of 11%.
Oil markets have been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, with government imposed quarantines choking off demand and causing a massive glut of supplies. U.S. crude prices plunged last week below $0 per barrel last week for the first time in history.
U.S. Treasury earnings rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would do all it can to support the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. central bank also added it would keep its policy interest rate at zero until it is confident the economy had weathered the downturn caused by the shutdowns.
The U.S. economy has suffered a severe contraction in the first quarter of the year. Official figures released Wednesday show that the gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of 4.8% in the first quarter due to lockdowns imposed around the country to combat the spread of the new strain of coronavirus.
The U.S. first economic contraction since 2014, follows a period of record expansion. The picture may look even more grim for the world’s largest economy when the complete data become available.
