US stocks surged Monday on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine that could allow the global economy to emerge from its pandemic-induced coma.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped as much as 701.31 points, or 2.9 percent, to 24,386.73 at the open after biotech firm Moderna reported promising results from a small human trial of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Optimism about the drug led the S&P 500 2.4 percent higher in early trading while the Nasdaq climbed as much as 1.8 percent.
Experts consider an effective vaccine key to restarting the economy because it will help make consumers comfortable traveling, shopping and eating out after spending months hunkered down at home to avoid the deadly virus.
“For the economy to fully recover, people will have to be fully confident. And that may have to await the arrival of a vaccine,” Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said in a “60 Minutes” interview aired Sunday.
Moderna said its vaccine showed signs of being safe and effective in the first phase of a trial led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But the company said its early data only showed eight people so far developing “neutralizing antibodies” for the new coronavirus.
Shares in Nasdaq-listed Moderna nevertheless skyrocketed as much as 34.7 percent to $87.00 on the news.
