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"So I think this kind of gives us another boost towards moving towards, you know, I guess what you want to call it, the old way, the normal. And so yes, you will see people feel more comfortable going to concerts, going to venues and perhaps with less restrictions because I know that that is kind of the roadblock for a lot of people," said Coons.

Shares of Merck climbed more than 9 percent on the early-stage clinical trial results.

Travel and leisure stocks moved higher as well on the belief Merck's antiviral pill could help soothe consumer jitters around the Delta variant, which has slowed economic activity in recent weeks.