US: S&P 500, Nasdaq end at new records, extending rally

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished in record territory again on Tuesday on enthusiasm over coronavirus vaccines and anticipation of stock offerings by Airbnb and DoorDash.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at all-time highs, with the S&P 500 up 0.3 per cent to 3,702.25 and the Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.5 percent to 12,582.77.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4 per cent to close at 30,173.88.

Sentiment has been boosted by major Covid-19 vaccine announcements that have lifted confidence about the potential for a strong economic recovery in 2021, and offset worries about the near-term pain as the US contends with soaring coronavirus case counts that have led to new restrictions.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday issued a positively-worded briefing document saying the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, raising expectations the regulator is poised to grant emergency approval.

Also on Tuesday, AstraZeneca became the first Covid-19 vaccine maker to publish final-stage clinical trial data in a scientific journal, confirming the vaccine works in an average of 70 per cent of cases.

Markets also have been cheered by the impending stock market debuts of Airbnb and Doordash, which are poised to take advantage of investor hunger for young businesses promising fast growth, especially amid lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic.

"Whenever you have companies that people use in their daily life, that usually draws interest from retail investors," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.

Among individual shares, Tesla gained 1.3 per cent as it announced plans to raise up to US$5 billion in new equity in a big capital-raising push taking advantage of its 2020 surge in value.

Apple gained 0.5 per cent as it unveiled the "AirPods Max" deluxe noise-cancelling headphones priced from a whopping US$549. The tech giant also said it will launch "Apple Fitness +" later this month.

AFP