Earnings, virus news to dictate direction of stock prices

US stocks rose slightly last week as a vaccine breakthrough boosted hopes that the world could return to normal.

The gains could moderate this week if earnings reports are as dire as anticipated and Covid-19 outbreaks in the US sun belt become deadlier.

Shares of Moderna surged after the biotech company, which has never succeeded in bringing a drug to market, said that its experimental, RNA-based vaccine showed impressive levels of efficacy in a mid-stage clinical trial.