US: Hope for end to virus buoys Wall Street, Dow ends +7.7%

[NEW YORK] Hopes that the economy-crushing coronavirus pandemic might be easing sent Wall Street climbing sharply on Monday, with all three main indices higher at the close of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average powered more than 1,600 points higher, a gain of 7.7 per cent, to close at 22,679.99 after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the death rate in the hardest-hit US state was "effectively flat" for the past two days even as he extended a lockdown until the end of the month.

The broad-based S&P 500 closed at 2,663.68, a gain of 7.0 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq won 7.3 per cent to finish at 7,913.24.

AFP