Monday was perhaps the most hopeful day yet of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., as a Massachusetts biotech company reported a promising vaccine trial, stocks rallied on the news, every state but one was reopening for business, Detroit’s Big Three automakers restarted factories, and Delta Air Lines announced it will resume flights for several major routes next month.

Moderna Inc. reported that the first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in humans appears to be safe and to stimulate an immune response. Although the study is not complete, some patients who were vaccinated developed antibodies at levels mirroring recovered COVID-19 patients.

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“We’re quite pleased with the breadth of the immune response so far,” Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, said on “CBS This Morning.”

Major stock indexes soared on the development. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 911 points, or 3.8%, to close at 24,597 — its best day since early April. The S&P 500, which gained 3.1%, hit a 10-week high.

At the White House, President Trump called it “a very positive day.” He said he thinks the nation has turned a corner from economic shutdowns resulting from the pandemic.

“This was a very big day therapeutically, vaccinewise and curewise,” Mr. Trump said during a meeting with restaurant executives. “It almost feels like today is the first day. Last week didn’t feel the same. Now it feels good. People are starting to go out there, opening. They get it.”

The president also made the startling disclosure that he is taking daily doses of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19 patients. However, the FDA has cautioned people not to use it outside of a hospital or clinical trial, and its effectiveness has not been established.

“I’ve been taking it for about a week and a half now, and I’m still here,” Mr. Trump said. “There’s a very good chance this has an impact.”

Across the nation, all states but Connecticut had loosened stay-at-home restrictions. In Florida, stores, gyms and restaurants returned to 50% capacity, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, gave the green light for professional sports teams to use Florida stadiums when they are ready.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said he has given up trying to push through any more statewide mandates to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus because he thinks rival Republicans would never allow any after the state Supreme Court overturned his stay-at-home order.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, continued to reopen his state. He announced that day care centers could reopen immediately and that bars and bowling alleys could start at 25% capacity on Friday. Mr. Abbott also said youth centers, including Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCAs, must open to keep children occupied as their parents return to work.

Restaurants can expand their capacity to 50% on Friday, and youth sports and camps will resume May 31.

Some major industries also began to gear up. Detroit’s Big Three automakers and their suppliers began restarting assembly lines after being shuttered for two months, a fresh sign of recovery for an industry that employs about 1 million Americans.

Fiat Chrysler reopened four vehicle assembly plants and four parts plants. GM is reopening several plants on one shift and bringing back 3,200 hourly workers who make pickup trucks at factories in Flint, Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Delta said it would resume flying several major routes in June, including some trans-Atlantic and Caribbean destinations.

As governors lift restrictions and more Americans return to work, the nation’s collective mood is lifting, too. Gallup reported Monday that less than half of U.S. adults, 47%, say they are worried a lot, down from 59% in late March and early April, when the pollster recorded an unprecedented increase in “self-reported worry.”

Gallup also found that boredom has dipped 5 points, to 41%, and “happiness has edged up 5 points, to 72%.” The survey was conducted from April 27 to May 10 as many states started easing stay-at-home orders and business restrictions. . . .

(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Article by Dave Boyer, Tom Howell Jr., and David Sherfinski.)