US Market ups as Gilead data overshadows virus concerns

The US stock market settled session higher after recouping early losses on Friday, 10 July 2020, as a positive update from Gilead's antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 brushed off worries about a fresh wave of coronavirus infections and its impact on the economic recovery.

At closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 369.20 points, or 1.44%, to 26,075.30. The S&P 500 index added 32.99 points, or 1.05%, to 3,185.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 69.64 points, or 0.66%, to 10,617.44. For the week ended Friday, the Dow rose 1%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.8% and the Nasdaq advanced 4%.

Gilead Sciences said on Friday that an analysis of clinical-trial data for its remdesivir drug found a 62% reduction in mortality risk among severely ill COVID-19 patients compared with standard care.

The United States registered the largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 infections globally for the second day in a row on Thursday, forcing Americans to take new precautions. The US reported 63,200 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Florida, Texas, and California also reported record numbers of new COVID-19 deaths. More than 3.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 134,000 deaths. Several states have already backpedaled on reopening plans.

Carnival Corp shares jumped after the cruise line operator said it was planning to resume operations in a phased manner and would operate with a smaller fleet on its return.

Netflix Inc shares rose after Goldman Sachs hiked its price target on the video streaming service's shares.

Among Indian ADR, Tata Motors rose 1.66% to $7.35, Wipro climbed 1.51% to $3.36, WNS Holdings added 1.72% to $54.88, INFOSYS rose 1.56% to $10.39, and Dr Reddys Labs was up 0.87% to $52.01, while Vedanta shed 0.67% to $5.93, HDFC Bank shed 0.33% to $48.33, and ICICI Bank sank 0.21% to $9.72.

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