Trump’s Re-Opening Plans, Promising COVID-19 Drug Results Boost European Shares

The major European stock indexes are expected to open up about 3% higher based on the futures trade, as U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out plans for a gradual re-opening of the economy and on reports of a potential drug to treat the COVID-19 disease.

At 10:26 GMT, the UK’s FTSE 100 is trading 5806.46, up 178.03 or +3.16%. Germany’s DAX 30 is at 10683.97, up 382.43 or +3.71% and France’s CAC 40 is trading 4516.77, up 166.61 or +3.83%.

Late on Thursday, Trump laid out new guidelines for U.S. states to emerge from the shutdowns in a staggered, three-stage approach, sending U.S. S&P 500 Index futures to a near five-week high.

Also lifting investor sentiment at the end of the week was a report detailing encouraging partial data from trials of U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc.’s experimental drug remdesivir in severe COVID-19 patients.

Trump Unveils Three-Stage Process for States to End Coronavirus Shutdown

President Donald Trump laid out new guidelines on Thursday for U.S. states to emerge from a coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage approach meant to revive the U.S. economy even as the country continues to fight the pandemic.

The recommendations call on states to show a “downward trajectory” of COVID-19 cases or positive tests for the disease over 14 days before proceeding with the plan, which gradually loosens restrictions on businesses that have been shuttered to blunt the spread of the virus.

“We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

The plan faces criticism because it did not include provisions to ramp up testing or set a specific standard for levels of the disease before economic opening.

Stocks Jump after Drug Shows Effectiveness in Treating the Coronavirus

European and US stock futures jumped in overnight trading stateside following a report that said a Gilead Sciences drug was showing effectiveness in treating the coronavirus.

Gilead Sciences shares popped by more than 16% in after-hours trading Thursday after details leaked of a closely watched clinical trial of the company’s antiviral drug Remdesivir, showing what appears to be promising results in treating COVID-19.

The University of Chicago’s phase 3 drug trial found that most of its patients had “rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms” and were discharged in less than a week, health-care publications STAT News reported.

“The best news is that most of our patients have already been discharged, which is great. We’ve only had two patients perish,” University of Chicago infectious disease specialist Kathleen Mullane said, according to STAT News, which obtained a video of her remarks.

European New Car Sales Plunge by 51.8% in March

Passenger car sales tumbled by more than 50% in Europe’s major markets in March as lockdowns imposed due to the new coronavirus took their toll, data showed on Friday.

In March, new car registrations dropped by 51.8% to 853,077 vehicles in the European Union, Britain and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, statistics from the European Auto Industry Association (ACEA) showed.

Sales fell in all EU markets, with Italy – hit particularly hard by the pandemic – reporting the biggest drop of 85.4%, while registrations tumbled by 37.7% in Germany, 72.2% in France and 69.3% in Spain.