Stocks were soaring midday Monday on news of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, a sharp reversal from last week's persistent pain.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, as of the early afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 828 points, while the S&P 500 had gained 3 percent and the Nasdaq had gained 2.3 percent, eliminating all of last week's losses. Traders seemed to be reacting to biotech firm Moderna's recent announcement that it had positive results from early human tests of its vaccine, sending shares up 24 percent.

Also driving the market today was a major surge in crude oil prices just weeks after the value of futures contracts went so low they dipped into the negative territory. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil price benchmark, had rallied more than 10 percent this morning, while Brent Crude, the global benchmark, climbed by nearly 7 percent. Prices were higher than they have been for the past two months, held aloft by the anticipated effects of a supply cut instituted to combat a global oil glut.