Stocks charge higher on hopes for progress in fighting virus

STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA

AP Business Writers

Stocks around the world whipped higher Wednesday, riding a wave of optimism on encouraging data about a possible treatment for COVID-19.

The upswell of hope was so strong that investors completely sidestepped a report showing the outbreak drove the U.S. economy to its worst quarterly performance since the Great Recession. The S&P 500 vaulted 2.7% higher and extended a rally that's brought the U.S. stock market to the brink of its best month in 45 years.

The spark for Wednesday's rally was a report that an experimental drug proved e...