U.S. futures surge
U.S. stock futures on early Tuesday morning pointed to a slight rebound from the heavy losses seen in the previous regular trading session.
As of 5:45 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were up 510 points, or 2.52% to 20,771 while those on the S&P 500 jumped 60.25 points, or 2.5% to 2,465. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures, meanwhile, indicated a gain of 208 points, or 2.95% to 7,248.50.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 2,997.10 points earlier on Monday, after drastic measures taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the White House to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus failed to calm traders.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped more than 11% while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 12.32%.
Regeneron shares rockets 12% after identifying antibodies to treat coronavirus
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) shares were rallying in pre-market trading hours Tuesday, after the company announced it had identified hundreds of antibodies that have the potential to treat the globally spreading COVID-19.
The Tarrytown, New York-based drugmaker said it hopes to start clinical trials for a treatment as soon as this summer.
“Given the tremendous interest and concern around the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be providing regular and transparent updates on our discovery and development programs,” said Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, cofounder and chief scientific officer.
The coronavirus pandemic has now claimed more than 7,000 people globally, including over 2,100 in Italy, the worst-hit country after China.
Regeneron shares gained $54.17, or 12.29% to $495.00 in pre-market trade on the news.
Apple fined $1.2 billion for anti-competitive behavior
In other news, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been hit with a record €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) fine by the French Competition Authority.
The antitrust regulator said Monday that Apple conspired with two distributors – Tech Data and Ingram Micro – to stifle competition and impose unfair conditions on third-party vendors or resellers of products such as the iPad and the Mac, between 2005 and 2013.
“Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products,” the French Competition Authority said in a statement.
Tech Data and Ingram Micro, were also fined, respectively for €76.1 million ($85 million) and €62.9 million ($70.2 million). Apple blasted the regulator’s decision and vowed to appeal.
At the time of writing, Apple stock was up $5.79, or 2.39% to $248.00 a share in pre-market trade Tuesday.
