Stock market news live updates: Stocks higher after Gilead says remdesivir treatment reduces Covid-19 death risk – Yahoo Finance

Stocks rose Friday after Gilead Sciences announced that its remdesivir treatment reduced the risk of death for Covid-19 patients, based on new data from the company.

Still, virus fears lingered in both the US and abroad. Hong Kong said it was set to close schools again starting on Monday, following a new batch of infections in the region. Mexico saw a record number of new cases to overtake Spain – once a global epicenter of the virus – in the number of overall cases. Major equity indices in Asia closed out Friday’s session lower.

Earlier signs that the outbreak was worsening still more in the South and West further stoked a further risk-off mood in markets. California, Florida and Texas each posted record one-day new coronavirus deaths as of Thursday. Crude oil prices (CL=F) steadied after posting their biggest drop in two weeks on Thursday at more than 3%. Investors piled into the relative safety of the bond market, and the benchmark 10-year yield fell to the lowest level since mid-April Friday morning.

A day earlier, the S&P 500 and Dow closed out Thursday’s session lower, while the Nasdaq Composite powered to yet another record high. Each of Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft hit record closing levels again on Thursday, with investors crowding further into tech and software names viewed as most likely to recover strongly in the wake of the pandemic.

The recent surge in tech shares widened the yawning gap in performance between sectors weighed heavily in tech stocks, and those without. The S&P 500’s information technology and consumer discretionary sectors – the latter of which includes Amazon – have each rallied well over 10% since June 1, versus a 3% gain in the broader market as of Thursday’s close. The energy sector has fallen 11.7% since June 1, and the utilities and financials sectors have dropped 5.6% and 3.9%, respectively.

“FAANG stocks went through a stress test that is greater than anything we will see in five lifetimes,” Tom Lee, Fundstrat global advisors managing partner and head of research, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday. FAANG names include Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet.

“They survived the Great Depression, and they actually grew their business, their revenues,” he added, referring to the period marking the economic nadir spurred by the pandemic. “And I think that means that investors realize that the value of their cash flow is that much more valuable. I think it’s a re-rating, and I think it’s a permanent re-rate. And that’s why they’ve blown past their prior highs.”

Big banks stocks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo rose after lagging during Thursday’s session. Bloomberg reported that Wells Fargo was planning to cut thousands of jobs this year, which would put the bank among a growing list of firms slashing their workforces to pare down costs during the pandemic. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Nielsen (NLSN) and United Airlines (UAL) have each announced planned job cuts earlier this week.

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12:12 p.m. ET: Trump suggests Phase 2 US-China trade deal unlikely, says China relationship ‘severely damaged’

President Donald Trump said Friday that the relationship between the US and China had been “severely damaged” in the wake of the pandemic, throwing cold water on prospects of more progress on a trade deal with Beijing.

“I don’t think about that now,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in response to a question about the prospects of a Phase 2 deal, according to a pool report. “The relationship with China has been severely damaged.”

“Honestly, I have many other things in mind,” he added.

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11:07 a.m. ET: Fed’s Kaplan says ‘broad mask-wearing’ would help slow spread of virus, boost economy

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said during an interview with Fox Business on Friday that mask-wearing could help spur economic activity by slowing the spread of Covid-19, which has resurged across the Sun Belt in the US in recent weeks.

“While monetary and fiscal policy have a key role to play, the primary economic policy from here is broad mask wearing and good execution of these health-care protocols,” he said in the interview. “If we do that well, we’ll grow faster.”

Kaplan added he expects the US economy will grow in the third and fourth quarters of this year, but that the full-year decline in GDP will likely be between 4.5% to 5%.

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9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks open slightly higher, shaking off overnight losses as virus treatment hope rises

Here were the main moves in markets as of 9:31 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.51 points (+0.02%) to 3,152.56

• Dow (^DJI): +16.82 points (+0.07%) to 25,722.91

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -1.97 points (-0.01%) to 10,546.54

• Crude (CL=F): +$0.03 (+0.08%) to $39.65 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +$10.50 (+0.58%) to $1,814.30 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -0.5 bps to yield 0.6%

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9:01 a.m. ET: Gilead shares rise after company announces remdesivir associated with 62% reduction in mortality rate for Covid-19 patients

Gilead announced Friday morning that new data showed its remdesivir Covid-19 treatment “was associated with an improvement in clinical recovery and a 62 percent reduction in the risk of mortality compared with standard of care – an important finding that requires confirmation in prospective clinical trials.”

Findings from the company’s comparative analysis showed 74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by Day 14, versus 59% of patients receiving standard of care, Gilead said.

Remdesivir previously received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration to be used as a treatment for hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19.

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8:30 a.m. ET: Core producer prices unexpectedly drop in June

An index tracking changes in producer prices unexpectedly fell in June as downward pressure on prices remained as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on demand.

The headline producer price index (PPI) dropped 0.2% month on month in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. A 0.4% increase in PPI had been expected, to match May’s pace of gains. Over last year, PPI fell 0.8% to match May’s year over year decline.

Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, PPI fell 0.3% on a month over month basis, while a rise of 0.1% had been expected. This core measure of underlying producer price changes had declined 0.1% in May.

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7:28 a.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures point to a lower open

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:28 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,133.75, down 7.25 points or 0.23%

• Dow futures (YM=F): 25,496.00, down 75 points, or 0.29%

• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 10,718.00, down 9.5 points, or 0.09%

• Crude (CL=F): -$0.63 (-1.59%) to $38.99 a barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +$9.80 (+0.54%) to $1,813.60 per ounce

• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): -1.6 bps to yield 0.589%

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6:09 p.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures rise

Here were the main moves at the start of the overnight session for U.S. equity futures, as of 6:09 p.m. ET:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,145.5, up 4.5 points or 0.14%

• Dow futures (YM=F): 25,611.00, up 40 points, or 0.16%

• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 10,734.5, up 7 points, or 0.07%

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