US stocks rose on Friday and also posted gains for the week, boosted by a surge in Boeing shares, President Donald Trump's plan to reopen the coronavirus-battered economy and hopes of a potential drug by Gilead to treat Covid-19.
The Nasdaq added 6.1 per cent for the week and registered its biggest two-week percentage gain since 2001.
Boeing shares soared nearly 15 per cent on plans to restart commercial jet production in Washington state after halting operations last month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gilead Sciences surged almost 10 per cent following a report that patients with severe symptoms of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, had responded positively to its experimental drug remdesivir. The report cited partial data from a University of Chicago hospital, one 152 locations participating in the trial.
With no treatments or vaccines currently approved for the coronavirus, the news helped lift global equity markets. But Gilead said the totality of the data from the trial needed to be analysed, and it expected to report results from a study testing the drug in severe Covid-19 patients at the end of April.
"If you can ultimately get a powerful treatment in lieu of a vaccine in the next couple of months, that would be good for cyclical stocks, anything economically sensitive," said RJ Grant, head of trading at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in New York. "If we can get some sort of back-to-normal in some way that the economy could start to function, the banks are going to rip," he added.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 30 per cent from its March trough following a raft of global stimulus and hopes that the spread of the virus was nearing a peak in the US.
However, the S&P remains about 15 per cent off its all-time high, and strategists have warned of a deep economic slump from the halt in business activity and layoffs.
Some US states are expected to begin announcing timetables for lifting restrictions. On Thursday, Mr Trump unveiled guidelines for a staggered, three-stage process by states to lift restrictions on business and social life to curb the pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 704.81 points, or 2.99 per cent, to 24,242.49, the S&P 500 gained 75.01 points, or 2.68 per cent, to 2,874.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 117.78 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 8,650.14.
For the week, the Dow added 2.2 per cent and the S&P 500 rose 3 per cent.
The reopening guidelines "provide some hope and optimism for folks and the market and the whole economy. It's a start", said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas.
Mr Bradshaw, who owns Boeing shares, said the planemaker's news was positive as well. "I certainly haven't given up on it," he said.
Bank stocks recovered after four straight days of losses triggered by lenders' reporting several billion dollars in reserves to cover potential loan defaults. The S&P 500 financial index ended up 5.6 per cent, while the S&P energy index jumped 10.4 per cent.
Apple fell 1.4 per cent as Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock on expectations of a 36 per cent drop in iPhone shipments during the company's fiscal third quarter due to coronavirus-related lockdowns.
Volume on US exchanges was 12.75 billion shares, compared to the 13.72 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 5.18-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.88-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 31 new highs and 13 new lows.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BRIEF SCORES
England 228-7, 50 overs
N Sciver 51; J Goswami 3-23
India 219, 48.4 overs
P Raut 86, H Kaur 51; A Shrubsole 6-46
England won by nine runs
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Read more about the coronavirus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5