Crypto and stocks alike surged today following news that a coronavirus-treating drug may be edging closer towards reality.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended today’s trading up by more than 500 points, while the S&P 500 shot up by more than 2%. All in all, April’s gains make this the best trading month for the S&P in over 45 years.
And, as has been the case since the Black Thursday market crash, crypto continues to track the stock market. Though today Bitcoin outperformed the S&P 500 by a large margin.
Bitcoin is currently trading right around $8,800 per coin. That’s a jump of more than 15% in the last 24 hours. The major altcoins in the market are following the lead as well.
Ethereum, for example, shot past the $200 mark for the first time in over a month, while Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and EOS are all up by between 8% and 9%. Total market cap for all cryptocurrencies has now spiked to a whopping $249 billion.
The stock market appears to have been buoyed by news that the tide may be turning with respect to the coronavirus pandemic. As the economy works to repair itself, biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences announced a potential breakthrough involving experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which it claims could work as a treatment for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The company released drug trial data suggesting COVID-19 patients treated with both five and 10-day doses showed signs of improvement, resulting in half of the surveyed patients being discharged from their respective medical centers.
FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum has since told CNBC that the organization is planning to authorize an emergency release of the drug, so it can be made “available to patients as quickly as possible, as appropriate.”