Shares buoyed by Trump and US stimulus hopes        

Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals jump 6.1% after treatment used on president 

President Trump’s medical condition remained unclear as he began the fourth day at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Picture: Joyce N Boghosian/The White House via AP

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic rose, buoyed by hopes for a politcial agreement on more stimulus for the Covid-19 hit US economy and on hints President Donald Trump could return to the White House. 

Although President Trump’s medical condition remained unclear as he began the fourth day at the military hospital where he is being treated for Covid-19, his doctors have said he could be discharged soon. 

Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals jumped 6.1% after President Trump's physician said he had been treated with an intravenous dose of Regeneron's dual antibody treatment. 

“One of his treatments was an experimental drug from Regeneron (and) that’s showing that this could be a major component to treatments moving forward for people,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York.

In Ireland, the Iseq index rose 0.7% but a group of shares exposed to the domestic economy fell back on concerns about any new health restrictions. Housebuilder Cairn Homes fell 1.3%, Dalata Hotel skipped 0.5%, and building product maker Kingspan was down 0.7%.                         

Doubts about the scale of further fiscal aid in the US and a slowing economic recovery have weighed on the S&P 500 recently, with the benchmark index in September logging its worst month since the coronavirus-driven crash earlier this year.

But latest data showed the services industry’s activity picked up in September, pulling above a level that prevailed before the pandemic struck the United States.

Further aiding the mood, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said there was still potential to reach agreement with US lawmakers on more coronavirus relief and that President Trump was committed to getting the deal done.

Heavyweight tech-related stocks including Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft were up. 

— Reuters and Irish Examiner