Wall Street rally extends, with Dow up 800 points

Stocks rallied on Monday, rebounding from losses last week, as news from a Moderna trial stoked optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 800 points higher, or 3.4%. The S&P 500 gained 3% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.5%.

Moderna shares rallied 26% after the company reported “positive” phase one results for a potential coronavirus vaccine. The company said that after two doses all 45 trial participants had developed coronavirus antibodies.

Bank stocks rose broadly. Wells Fargo jumped more than 6% while Bank of America and Citigroup both traded nearly 5% higher. JPMorgan Chase advanced 3.9%. Comments from the Federal Reserve chief also added to the bullish sentiment.

Oil prices rallied in part by the easing of stay-at-home orders. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 10.1%, trading at $32.44 per barrel.

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 fell 1.1% and 2.2%, respectively, last week with the latter notching its worst week since March. The Dow industrials finished the week down 2.65% for its third negative week in four and its worst week since April 3.

Wall Street’s veteran investors say stocks could be in for choppy trading until it’s clear that state efforts to reopen their economies aren’t met with significant spikes in new cases of Covid-19. This weekend most states either partially or completely ended lockdowns.

Wall Street rally extends, with Dow up 800 points, CNBC, May 18