The daily business briefing: October 27, 2020

1. Ant Group IPO priced to be biggest ever

China's Ant Group, the financial arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, priced shares in its initial public offering at $10.30 each, setting it up to raise about $34 billion in what would be the largest IPO on record. Shares of Ant Group, the parent of the Alipay mobile payment service, are expected to start trading in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the coming weeks. The price set for the company's shares give it a market value of about $310 billion. Ant's IPO would surpass the $25 billion raised in 2014 by sister company Alibaba, as well as the $29.4 billion that Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco, raised last year. Hundreds of millions of people in China use Alipay as their credit or debit card, mutual fund, and insurance source.

CNN The New York Times

2. Stocks dive as new coronavirus cases hit record high

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday as record new coronavirus cases in the United States and new business closures and curfews in Europe raised fears that a fall wave of infections could trigger more global economic damage. The ongoing stalemate in Washington over a fresh round of coronavirus stimulus spending fueled investor concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2.3 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. "You can only pretend that COVID was not a problem for so long," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Conn. "I think the market has finally kind of gotten it through its head at the same time that there's very little shot at stimulus." Stock futures edged higher early Tuesday.

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3. AstraZeneca's experimental coronavirus vaccine shows promise among elderly

AstraZeneca announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine in development with the University of Oxford has produced a similar immune response in both younger and older adults. The vaccine also results in low adverse responses among older people, the pharmaceutical giant said. That's a standout response considering COVID-19 tends to be more severe in older patients. Several dozen coronavirus vaccines are in the works around the globe, with AstraZeneca's one of many undergoing clinical testing. It's unclear when AstraZeneca will publish the results of its large ongoing trial that will help determine its vaccine's safety, but it is expected to be one of the first vaccine candidates to seek regulatory approval.

CNBC Reuters

4. Eli Lilly halts a coronavirus antibody treatment trial

Eli Lilly said Monday that it was ending its U.S.-based clinical trial of its coronavirus antibody treatment because there was "insufficient evidence" that the treatment helped when added to other treatments for patients recovering from advanced stages of COVID-19. The drug maker had halted the trial two weeks ago, citing a potential safety concern. Eli Lilly said it would continue other trials for using the antibody treatment for recently diagnosed patients with mild to moderate illness, for non-hospitalized newly diagnosed patients, and for residents and staff at long-term care facilities. President Trump has praised Eli Lilly's treatment, and said that an experimental cocktail made by Regeneron that he received after being infected was a "cure."

Forbes

5. Oil prices plunge as surging coronavirus cases stoke demand fears

Oil prices dropped by more than 3 percent on Monday as surging coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe raised fears that renewed restrictions to contain the virus could slow down the global economy and reduce fuel demand. Rebounding production in Libya also increased concerns about oversupply. International benchmark Brent crude fell by $1.31, or 3.1 percent, to $40.46 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped by $1.29, or 3.2 percent. Both benchmarks were coming off declines of nearly 2.5 percent last week. "It's a dark Monday in the oil market," said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy. "We have long warned that a 'second wave' of strict coronavirus restriction measures could be re-imposed, and it's now happening for real."

Reuters