Stocks open flat following good remdesivir study

Stocks opened relatively flat on Friday, reversing expected losses from futures trading, following an announcement by Gilead that its COVID-19 drug remdesivir reduced mortality.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 35 points, or 0.1 percent, and the S&P 500 was down 5 points, or 0.2 percent in the first minutes of trading.

Gilead Sciences announced Friday morning that remdesivir reduced the risk of death for patients with severe cases of COVID-19 by 62 percent. Prior remdisivir studies only proved that it reduced the duration of the disease. 

The morning announcement drew back expected losses, which has seen Dow futures falling 100 points.

The remdesivir news comes as the country continues to see record daily increases in confirmed cases of the coronavirus and states take actions to shut down or restrict bars, restaurants and other businesses to help get the outbreaks under control.