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Markets rallied Wednesday after hearing news of positive test results of Gilead‘s remdesivir‘s drug treatment COVID-19 patients. Though more testing is needed before remdesivir can be used anywhere, the hopeful news lifted markets. Gildea stock spiked 5.7%. In fact, indices in Toronto and New York kept rising throughout the session, with the Nasdaq jumping 3.57% and the TSX rising 2.9%. A barrel of WTI soared 25% and WCS by 45%. Countries continue to plan gradual reopenings, but so are major retailers like Best Buy, which announced it will allow customers into selected stores by appointment.
In Toronto, the risk-in sentiment propelled the energy sector over 13% higher, including Crescent Point and Baytex, which both surged more than 17%. Financials also rallied with all the big banks gaining, such as BMO by 5%. Loblaw released its quarterly report, beating the street in profit, but warned that “unprecedented” demand has been moderating since late March when consumers were stockpiling goods in panic. Loblaw actually closed down 3.84%.
On Wall Street, the optimism overshadowed news that that U.S. GDP plunged 4.8% in Q1, its biggest drop since 2008. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fed held interest rates near zero. In a day of winners, one of the biggest was Google, soaring 8.74% on a Q1 revenue beat.
🧫 Gilead Sciences Inc. +5.70%
🛢 Crescent Point Energy Corp +17%
🛢 Baytex Energy Corp +17%
🏛 Bank of Montreal +5%
🛒 Loblaw Companies Ltd -3.84%
🅰 Alphabet Inc. / Google +8.74%
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