US Stocks Higher Despite Little Good COVID News

Wall Street opened the new trading week on a high note Monday with big gains by all three major indexes even while there’s little good news on the coronavirus pandemic.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 691 points, a 3% gain. 

The S&P 500 was also 3% higher, while the NASDAQ was up 4%. 

Major European indexes were also higher Monday — 1% in London and Paris, and 2% in Frankfurt — while Asian markets fell 1%. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX was a bright spot in Asia, trading nearly 5% higher on government promises of more aid for the country’s troubled economy. 

Johnson & Johnson led Monday’s rise in New York after the pharmaceutical company announced it will be ready to test a coronavirus vaccine in September. 

But energy stocks were down after crude oil ended the day at a little more than $20 a barrel — an 18-year low. 

U.S. stocks began the week 20% higher than last Monday’s open. But analysts are still cautioning investors to be careful, saying there are still too many unknowns about the global coronavirus outbreak. 

Also Monday, Macy’s, a crown jewel among U.S. retailers, says it is laying off most of its 125,000 employees because of the pandemic. 

All of its 775 stores in the U.S. have been closed because of social distancing.  

The company says it must pare its workforce to the “absolute minimum needed to maintain operations.”