Dow futures surge 400 points on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine

Stock futures traded higher early Tuesday morning to begin a holiday-shortened week, as optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine built.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 416 points, pointing to an implied opening jump of around 429 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also pointed to a positive open for the indexes on Tuesday. Trading volumes remained thin in overnight action. U.S. markets were closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

American biotech company Novavax said Monday it started the first human study of its experimental coronavirus vaccine. The company said it expects initial results on safety and immune responses in July. Last week, another biotech Moderna reported positive development on its vaccine trial where all 45 participants had developed coronavirus antibodies.

The moves in stock futures followed a solid week for Wall Street that saw the 30-stock Dow rise 3.3%, posting its best weekly performance since April. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also climbed more than 3% last week.

The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. topped more than 1.6 million as deaths rose to more than 97,000, a tally from Johns Hopkins University showed as of Monday. Many states have taken steps in recent weeks to lift lockdown measures that curbed the spread of the disease.

Dow futures surge 400 points on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, CNBC, May 26