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 effective against the new coronavirus in a study run by the National Institutes of Health. The nation's top infectious diseases expert said the drug reduced the time it takes patients to recov
