If last week was beset by the economic realities of the covid-19 pandemic, then Monday is starting out with a (temporary) cure for those concerns – namely, the approval of blood plasma from recovered patients as a treatment against the virus.
The FDA have granted ‘emergency use authorisation’ to this method, based on evidence it can reduce the mortality rate of covid-19 patients while aiding their recovery.
Donald Trump was in danger of undermining sentiment as he once again labelled covid-19 as the ‘China virus’ during the announcement. However, the markets were willing to look beyond the President’s geopolitical needling to focus on celebrating this moment of progress.
As a side note, according to state media the Chinese government has been using a Sars-Cov-2 vaccine on key workers since July. Coincidentally or not, the country has also gone a week without any reported locally transmitted covid cases.
Jumping – literally – at the chance to turn their attentions to something positive, the European markets came out of the gate hot. The FTSE just about returned to 6100 following a 100 point surge, with the DAX crossing 12950 thanks to a 1.7% increase. Better than both of its more popular peers, the CAC added 2%, leaving it at 4980.
Currently the Dow Jones isn’t quite as giddy, with the futures suggesting a 0.5% rise come the US open. Though it is early, meaning bigger things might be on their way, that growth would still be enough to push the Dow to 28080 for the first time in close to a fortnight. If it closes at that level, meanwhile, it would be an exact 6-month peak for the index.
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