US indices all climbed over 2% for the first time since *checks calendar, throws calendar out the window because time means nothing anymore* earlier this month.
The Dow rallied 2.2%, after Alphabet reported higher than expected earnings, despite COVID's impact on ad revenue. Because apparently the stock market plays by the Thunderdome's rules. The S&P rose 2.7%, while the Nasdaq climbed 3.6%.
But why?
A couple of reasons. The first of which rhymes with Pay Howell. During the Fed's Zoom call on Wednesday, Chairman Jay Powell called for Congress and the White House to spend more money to protect workers, businesses, and households. So, everybody?
What's more? He said the Fed will keep interest rates at or near zero for as long as it takes to get us through the looming recession. Powell also said the Fed would use "its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time." Have some respect for yourself Jay, don't give it up so easy...
All the major US indices benefited from the benevolence of Saint Jerome, but the S&P, in particular, is on a heater that has it on pace for the index's best month since 1974. Why? A little company called Gilead...
The Gilead effect
Editor's note: the big pharma company, not the totalitarian theocracy from 'Handmaid's Tale'.
If the name sounds familiar, that's because the pharma bros have sent investors through a rollercoaster of emotions over the past month. First, it announced it was testing a drug to potentially treat COVID-19, which unsurprisingly sent shares soaring. That is until WHO accidentally revealed trial results proving the opposite, leading to its stock cratering.
But what does WHO know really?
Gilead said on Wednesday that 50% of patients treated with Gilead's remdesivir improved, and more than 50% were out of the hospital in under two weeks.
On top of those results, Gilead also got put on notice that the big swingin' d*cks at the FDA, plan to approve remdesivir to treat patients that have come down with the 'vid. It would mark the first anti-coronavirus drug that the FDA has passed on to human trial. *Chimps and rats at Gilead breathe a sigh of relief*
Plus, the company said that a trial by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, led by none other than American heartthrob, Dr. Fauci, met the goals it set forth. So you can see why people might be getting excited.
Cooler Commentary
Despite all the good news, the economy is still less stable than Patrick Bateman listening to Huey Lewis and The News. Case in point: the US economy shrank at an alarming 4.8% annualized rate over the first quarter of the year... the biggest dip since 2008. Bad year.
And according to analysts, it's only going to get worse. In fact, they fear the good ol' US of A is on pace for one of the worst recessions in more than 80 years.
Still, investors seem to give literally zero f*cks (see: J-Poww's money printer going brrr and a coron-antidote) That's showbiz baby…
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