Push for Novel COVID-19 Treatment Leads to Stock Market Rally

The FDA has been notorious for taking years, if not decades, to approve certain drugs. While this has been framed as necessary to ensure the safety of new drugs, many have argued that the FDA’s capriciousness costs more lives in the long run. Recent President Trump’s executive orders are now shaking things up — in both the medical and economic arena.

Convalescent Plasma and the Stock Market

Last Sunday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an emergency use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of critical coronavirus cases. As its name suggests, this plasma was extracted from recovered COVID-19 patients. Meaning, their organisms have developed an antibody response to the virus.

At the same time, President Trump has announced on multiple occasions that standard procedures will be significantly expedited to combat the virus. This is in line with his Operation Warp Speed. It facilitates tight cooperation between pharma and government, the development of new drugs, and the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

At a glance, it may seem strange that such an unusual treatment as convalescent plasma would yield such a market rally. However, let us not forget that almost all COVID-19 deaths were among the elderly. In lieu of a vaccine, this is the next best thing to treat the worst of the seasonal flu.

S&P 500 Continues to Rise

The combination of new FDA-approved medical measures, steady drop in new corona deaths, and Trump’s avowal to not shut down the country again, have all conspired to revitalize the stock market.

• The S&P 500 rose by 0.6%, after achieving a record high on Friday
• Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 1.4% alongside Asian markets

The nation may be in recession, but the global stock market certainly isn’t. As tens of thousands of small businesses permanently close their doors, the trend of massive corporate consolidation continues apace.

The convalescent plasma, or “breakthrough treatment” as President Trump called it, seems to be one in a serious of steps for this administration’s exit strategy toward economic recovery. More importantly, it leaves behind the hysteria that fuels mass unemployment, mental illness, substance abuse, and ultimately more deaths than the virus itself.

Do you think it is conducive for society to hyper-focus on corona cases instead of deaths, which seem to be in the normal seasonal flu range? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclosure: Tim Fries has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned, and has no plans to initiate any positions within the 72 hours following the publishing of this article. This article expresses the opinions of Tim Fries. Tokenist Media LLC has no position in any of the stocks mentioned, and does not plan to initiate any positions within 72 hours of the publishing of this article. Please consult our website policy for more information.