Shares Up On Coronavirus Drug Hopes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets surged on Wednesday following encouraging news for an experimental COVID-19 treatment and some positive earnings reports, while beaten-up oil prices soared.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 2.47%.

Major U.S. averages were up well over 2%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.75%.

A top U.S. health official said Gilead Sciences Inc’s (GILD.O) antiviral drug remdesivir is likely to become the standard of care for COVID-19 after early results from a clinical trial showed it helped certain patients recover more quickly from the illness caused by the coronavirus.