Stocks soar as NYSE reopens floor
Stocks roared Tuesday coming off the holiday weekend, as the national shutdown continues to unwind, more drug companies chase coronavirus vaccines and the New York Stock Exchange reopened its floor to traders for the first time in two months.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up nearly 600 points Tuesday, about 2.3%, on the heels of its 3.3% gain last week.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 57 points, about 1.9%.
And the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a 1.6% gain.
All three indexes are coming off strong gains last week and are positive for May.
“With more signs of the worst of the virus being behind us, investors are beginning to focus on more countries reopening and the lifting of travel bans around the world,” Torsten Slok, chief economist for Deutsche Bank Securities, said in an email. “More signs of reopening and more signs of travel bans being lifted creates more clarity for markets.”
Dow component Merck was up in early trading after the pharmaceutical giant announced several advances against the coronavirus, including teaming with another company on the development of a vaccine as well as new treatments for virus patients.
The New York Stock Exchange Tuesday reopened its floor, allowing traders back on under restrictions that include temperature checks, social distancing, masks and Plexiglas barriers.
The pandemic forced it to shift to all-electronic trades on March 23.
European markets swelled Tuesday.
The French CAC was up 1.24%, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1% and the German Dax gained 0.87% in midday trading.