Stocks Opened Higher on Coronavirus Treatment Hopes

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday, buoyed by encouraging news about a coronavirus treatment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 113.07 points, or 0.44%, to 25,819.16. The S&P 500 was up 4.84 points, or 0.15%, to 3,156.89. The Nasdaq Composite was down 37.52 points, or 0.36%, to 10,510.23.

Oil futures were headed lower on Friday as Libya fired up its energy production and as a report from the International Energy Agency cautioned that weaker demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic will linger. August West Texas Intermediate crude fell 62 cents, or 1.6%, at $39.01 a barrel. Brent oil for September lost shed 46 cents, or 1.1%, at $41.89 a barrel.

Gilead Sciences Inc said on Friday additional data from a late-stage study showed its antiviral remdesivir significantly improved clinical recovery in severely ill COVID-19 patients. Findings from an analysis of its late-stage study showed that 74.4% of remdesivir-treated patients recovered by Day 14 versus 59.0% of patients receiving standard of care, the company said.