Asian Shares Rise On Hopes For Drug To Treat Coronavirus
On
The S&P 500 vaulted 2.7% higher, extending a rally that’s brought the
The spark for Wednesday’s rally was a report that the experimental drug remdesivir proved effective against the new coronavirus in a study run by the
“With the refreshed optimism on the Covid-19 end,
Also boosting sentiments were some data out of
Manufacturing activity contracted at its fastest pace on record in February after
Activity rebounded in March but forecasters warn manufacturers might face a second dip due to a possible second wave of the outbreak.
The S&P 500 rose 76.12 points to 2,939.51. It has surged 13.7% in April, and is a day away from closing out its best month since late 1974.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.2% to 24,633.86, and the Nasdaq climbed 3.6% to 8,914.71.
“What you’re finding now is you have this debate between optimism and realism,” said
The
“Everything except equities is telling you things are not great,” Taback said. “This market is overly optimistic.”
Job losses have exploded since early April, as layoffs sweep the nation following widespread stay-at-home orders, and economists expect to see even worse numbers for the second quarter of the year.
The first quarter figure was “merely the tip of the iceberg,” said
But stocks have been rallying over the last month as investors look beyond the current economic devastation, focusing instead on the prospect of economies gradually reopening. Some
But what got the 31.4% rally for the S&P 500 started in late March was massive aid from the
The smallest stocks have shown the largest degree of optimism. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped 4.8% Wednesday and is up 10.4% this week alone, more than double the gain for indexes of bigger stocks.
Many professional investors are skeptical of the
“My concern is that the market is starting to get a little bit more focused on the rewards and less focused on the risks right now,” said
“I don’t think you just flip the switch and everybody goes back to work right away,” he said.
Oil prices are continuing their extreme swings after a collapse in demand has sent crude storage tanks close to their limits.
Benchmark
The
AP Business Writers
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