US pre-open: Futures point to solid gains on optimism around Covid-19 treatment

Wall Street futures were pointing to solid gains ahead of the bell on Monday as after the US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation for convalescent plasma on Covid-19 patients.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 1.03%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.85% and 0.94% higher, respectively.

The Dow closed 190.60 points higher on Friday and a seemingly unstoppable rally in tech shares pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite above their previous records.

Sentiment was boosted by the FDA's emergency authorisation of a treatment that uses blood plasma donated by people who've already recovered from Covid-19. Donald Trump stated on Sunday that the plasma treatment cuts the coronavirus' mortality rate by 35%.

Doctors acknowledged that while the treatment could possibly provide benefits to Covid-19 patients, there wasn't any type of conclusive evidence regarding its effectiveness, dosage or optimal administration period.

The White House was also said to be mulling over fast-tracking an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed in Britain for use in the US ahead of November's presidential election, according to the Financial Times.

CMC Markets' David Madden said: "Trump will be contesting the US presidential election in November so he is keen to get a grip on the health crisis. The drug in question still has a long way to go in terms of development, but the bulls have jumped on the story."

Also in focus, gold futures rose 0.6% to around $1,958 an ounce, while oil futures ticked up 0.71% as Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura halted production in much of the Gulf of Mexico.

On the macro front, the Chicago Fed's national activity index for July will be released at 1330 BST.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday.