The market’s rising and remdesivir is here.
Gilead’s (NASDAQ: GILD) antiviral drug created in 2016 to fight Ebola is showing even more promise in treating COVID-19. The FDA is now attempting to get remdesivir in the hands of coronavirus patients as soon as possible with the help of the company.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) found that the drug likely reduced both recovery times and symptoms for coronavirus patients, including death, in a recently completed study.
If remdesivir continues to prove effective, stocks could soar. They already did today, but the rally should get even better with a legitimate COVID-19 treatment solution as the U.S. eyes an economic re-opening.
“Markets are going to move like this on this kind of news,” Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors, said.
“If we had a vaccination, then I think you would see a very different economic recovery. If we have treatments, I think you’ll see a little bit quicker of an economic recovery.”
But that’s not all; big tech is getting in on the action, too, with corporate earnings released this afternoon. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) both beat earnings estimates. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will report on Thursday after the market closes.
Bezos & Co. are expected to reveal huge quarterly revenues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heck, even oil’s rising again. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO), which is priced off of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures, gained 5.63% on the day.
The Fed helped things along as well. Chairman Jerome Powell announced at 2 p.m. EST that the central bank would keep rates low until the economy improves or inflation rises.
All of these variables are ultimately pointing to one thing:
Another “leg up” for the market.
How long it lasts or if the gains stick are still an unknown, but for now, the going’s good.
Traders might as well go along for the ride with new, long positions.
AT&T (NYSE: T), like the rest of the market, rose in response to the remdesivir headlines.
However, unlike many other stocks, T didn’t quite soar. By the close today, it only gained 2.54%.
Moving forward, however, it has plenty of “rally potential” as the U.S. gets serious about an end to the quarantine.
T set two higher lows since bottoming in late March. Today, it jumped above its minor bearish trend (represented by the yellow trendline) and key resistance at roughly $31.42.
Provided that the market climbs higher – something that looks almost certain for the next few sessions – T could do very well.
All while bulls go head over heels for stocks (like T) that missed the “burst” upwards today.
