US pre-open: Futures surge on drug treatment hopes

US futures were sharply higher on Friday after Gilead Sciences revealed one of its drugs had shown effectiveness in treating Covid-19 symptoms.

As of 1230 BST, Dow futures were up 3.17%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 3.03% and 2.27% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 33.33 points higher on Thursday, even as data revealed that millions more Americans had filed for unemployment amid the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Gilead shares surged 10.61% in pre-market trading after a report broke that patients in a Chicago hospital were recovering rapidly from severe symptoms after being taking the group's Remdesivir drug.

IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Gilead’s Remdesivir trial results have breathed a new sense of optimism into markets, with many seeing this as the potential begging of the end for this coronavirus crisis. However, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious as an investor, with the large-scale results yet to be determined in trials undertaken around the world.

"Nevertheless, from a market perspective, this news allows traders to continue discounting backward-looking economic and corporate data in a bid to remain optimistic that this is a good buying opportunity."

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US have topped 676,670, claiming the lives of more than 34,780 Americans in the process.

Elsewhere in corporate news, Boeing shares flew higher ahead of the bell after announcing it would resume production in Seattle as soon as 20 April.

On the macro front, March's leading index will be posted at 1500 BST.