Stocks Opened Sharply Higher on Coronavirus Treatment Hopes

U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Monday, as investors’ optimism about a potential treatment for the coronavirus helped to extend a bullish rally. The Dow Industrial Averages lately gained 175.07 points, or 0.63%, to 28,105.40. The S&P 500 added 25.50 points, or 0.75%, to 3,422.66. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 135.28 points, or 1.20%, to 11,447.08.

Oil futures rose Monday as a pair of tropical storms, which are expected to make landfall within days of each other, closed in on the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the shutdown of offshore rigs responsible for more than half of the region’s crude and natural-gas production. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery rose 44 cents, or 1%, to $42.75 a barrel. October Brent crude was up 47 cents, or 1.1%, at $44.82 a barrel.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday said it issued an emergency use authorization for investigational convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 in hospitalized patients.