Wall Street gains on coronavirus drug hopes

Wall Street gains on coronavirus drug hopes

U.S. stocks rose on Friday and posted gains for the week, helped by a surge in Boeing shares, President Donald Trump's plan to reopen the coronavirus-battered economy and hopes of a potential drug by Gilead to treat COVID-19.

Yahaira Jacquez reports.

Stocks on Wall Street rallied on Friday on hopes that a Gilead Sciences drug could be an effective COVID-19 treatment.

The gains gave Wall Street's main indexes their first back-to-back weekly gains since February.

But are still far from their all time highs, as the coronavirus pandemic has brought the American economy to a screeching halt.

But a White House plan to reopen parts of the economy soon helped boost investor sentiment.

Ken Kamen is president of Mercadien Asset Management.

(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) Ken Kamen, president, Mercadien Asset Management saying: "We're starting to hear narratives that people are attempting to re-open the economy here and around the globe.

That was an unthinkable conversation a few weeks ago.

So it makes sense for the market to be coming up a little bit here." Boeing shares soared nearly 15% - lifting the Dow Jones - after the planemaker said it would restart production in Washington State and Philadelphia.

Investors are now looking ahead to next week when a fifth of S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings.

Among the companies - Netflix and some of the worst hit by the pandemic's fallout, such as Delta and Southwest airlines.