U.S. stocks rose market indices to new record highs as coronavirus fears dissipate for investors. On Wednesday, researchers at Zhejiang University reported that they had found a drug to treat those infected with the virus. Meanwhile, U.K.'s Sky News stated that a team at Imperial College London had made significant breakthroughs in their research towards a cure. So far, the World Health Organization has said that there is no specific medicine that can prevent or treat the virus, but the news was good enough for investors to take a less defense stance in their trades.
Here's how the market closed for the mid-week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.13% or +37.11 points to 3,334.70
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.68% or +482.75 points to 29,290.38
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.43% or +40.71 points to 9,508.68
In Major Stock News, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares dropped over 17% after the car company announced that there will be a delay in Model 3 deliveries due to the coronavirus in China. Coty (NYSE: COTY) shares jumped close to 15% after the beauty company reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings. Ford's (NYSE: F) stock plunged over 9% after the auto market missed earning expectations for its fourth quarter. Snap (NYSE: SNAP) shares dropped more than 14% after a disappointing quarterly revenue report. Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) shares fell after the video game developer announced the departure of one of its vice presidents.
In Stock Sector News, every sector except Real Estate, who dropped a modest -0.07%, saw positive stock performance gains. The gains were lead by Energy +3.78%, Financials +1.97%, Health Care +1.97%, Materials +1.86%, Industrials +1.66%, Consumer Staples +0.76%, Information Technology +0.60%, Consumer Discretionary +0.49%, Utilities +0.42% and Communication Services +0.05%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, oil saw some recovery today following better market outlook towards global demand and trade. West Texas Intermediate's (NYSE: USO) crude barrel prices increased +3.60%, meanwhile Brent Crude's (NYSE: BNO) prices jumped +3.40%. Gold (NYSE: GLD) also saw a strong increase, with the metal's prices growing +0.46%. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) is continuing to grow in strength, with the DXY Index increasing +0.35%.