Stock market live updates: Dow up 250, Druckenmiller ‘humbled’ by comeback, S&P down 1% this year

This is a live blog. Check back for updates.

London-listed AstraZeneca has abandoned tentative, early interest in merging with Gilead Sciences, the American biopharmaceutical company behind coronavirus treatment remdesivir, according to The Times. The English-Swedish company is thought to have scrapped a deal because it would have distracted it from its own therapy pipeline, according to the report. The Times report, published on Monday, poured cold water on a Bloomberg News report that on Sunday said AstraZeneca made a preliminary approach to Gilead in May for a potential combination. That deal, had it occurred, would have been the largest health-care deal on record. — Franck

One of the big events for markets this week will be the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting that starts Tuesday. Wall Street is expecting a lot of talk but not much action. Among the main topics for the Fed’s policymaking group will be whether to implement so-called yield curve controls, which would entail buying bonds with the intention of keeping yields at lower levels. In tandem with that, the committee is likely to discuss strengthening its forward guidance, or commitment to keeping short-term rates at low levels until certain economic benchmarks are met. However, markets are not expecting definitive moves on either topic. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will conduct a virtual news conference Wednesday after the meeting. – Cox

RBC upped its price target on Amazon to $3,300 from $2,700 and said it sees the company continuing to benefit from the “shift to e-commerce” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The firm said the e-commerce giant is a “structural winner” after the firm conducted its annual online shopping survey. “AMZN-specific results clearly support the idea that AMZN is likely the best global play off of online retail,” analyst Mark Mahaney said. CNBC PRO subscribers can read more here. – Bloom

Travel stocks – airlines, hotels and cruise lines – looked to extend last week’s rally as demand starts to pick up with coronavirus lockdowns easing. United Airlines was up 10% in premarket trading on Monday, while Delta jumped 8%. Shares of Carnival and Royal Caribbean were up more than 10% each in premarket. Hilton and Marriott both gained more than 3%. Retailers, also tied to the reopening of the economy, were among the biggest gainers with Kohl’s and Nordstrom both popping more than 8% in premarket.— Li

U.S. stock index futures were sharply higher Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to jump more than 200 points at the open, for a gain of 0.8%. The S&P 500 was slated to open 0.4% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite was poised to begin trading around the flatline.

Monday’s action builds on recent strength in the market as the economy’s reopening as well as better-than-expected economic data have pushed the major averages higher. On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite rose to a new all-time intraday high, becoming the first of the major indexes to wipe out its coronavirus-induced losses. The S&P 500 is now down just 1% for the year and is about 6% below its February record high. The Dow has a little more ground to make up and is sitting roughly 8% below its high. The major averages are coming off their best week since early April.

Some outperformers last week included airline stocks. The NYSE Arca Airline Index is coming off its best week on record, after registering a gain of 36.87%. – Stevens 

– CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Tom Franck contributed reporting.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.