As most of the U.S. stock market flounders amid a massive global flight from risk assets, one stock briefly led the S&P 500 with an astonishing 3.4% rally. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) defied the coronavirus slump after the World Health Organization praised its remdesivir drug as a leading candidate to help fight the global health crisis.<\/p>\n
With all three of the major U.S. stock market indices down more than 3%, Monday was a terrible day for Wall Street bulls.<\/p>\n
For those investors brave enough to dive into the biotech wars to find a coronavirus treatment, there was some gold to be found. Gilead Sciences has emerged as the front runner in providing a drug to combat the disease, according to the WHOs Bruce Aylward.<\/p>\n
Hopes were already high for remdesivir after Gilead claimed that there were optimistic signs based on its animal tests.<\/p>\n
Remdesivir has demonstrated in vitro and in vivo activity in animal models against the viral pathogens MERS and SARS, which are also coronaviruses and are structurally similar to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
The limited preclinical data on remdesivir in MERS and SARS indicate that remdesivir may have potential activity against COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Given that some of these results were on monkeys, which have a close correlation with human genetics, investors are banking on the possibility that this drug, which has been used to help treat HIV and Cholera, gets fast-tracked to human trials.<\/p>\n
The coronavirus has now infected around 80,000 people globally, but its the diseases spread outside of China that has spooked the S&P 500 so much.<\/p>\n
Outside of stocks, the fear in the marketplace looks very real as the price of gold rallies aggressively alongside the safe-haven Japanese yen. Demonstrating concerns about growth, crude oil took a monster 5% hit as global trade continued to struggle.<\/p>\n
South Korea is dealing with a parabolic spike in infections, while northern Italy is on lockdown after a seventh death. The quarantine threatens the most important financial hub of one of the eurozones wealthiest nations.<\/p>\n
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has acknowledged the desperate need to contain the virus.<\/p>\n
Its clear that the upside for Gilead Sciences stock is enormous if they can prove that remdesivir works before another drugmaker develops an effective treatment.<\/p>\n
But thats still a big if.<\/p>\n
Until then, the move higher in GILD only marks speculative optimism, with the potential for a far more significant spike.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: This article represents the authors opinion and should not be considered investment or trading advice from CCN.com.<\/p>\n
This article was edited by Josiah Wilmoth.<\/p>\n
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Why This S&P 500 Stock Is Defying the Brutal Coronavirus Plunge - CCN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As most of the U.S. stock market flounders amid a massive global flight from risk assets, one stock briefly led the S&P 500 with an astonishing 3.4% rally. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) defied the coronavirus slump after the World Health Organization praised its remdesivir drug as a leading candidate to help fight the global health crisis Continue reading