US: Dow edges to record as US stock rally resumes

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks resumed their holiday season rally Wednesday, shrugging off the dimming chances of more US stimulus being enacted while another coronavirus vaccine advanced.

The Dow edged to a fresh record, with analysts pointing to bargain-hunting after equities fell on Monday.

Britain became the first country in the world to approve AstraZeneca and Oxford University's low-cost Covid-19 vaccine, another option to tame the deadly disease. The United States has already cleared vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw more cold water on the prospect for raising stimulus payments to US$2,000 from the US$600 maximum included in the just-enacted US relief bell, criticising a measure backed by President Donald Trump in a speech on the Senate floor.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.2 percent at 30,409.56, narrowly overtaking an all-time high registered on Monday.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent at 3,732.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to 12,870.00.

"Investors are taking a breather," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors.

"We are running a bit out of gas after the big moves of the last quarter."

Among individual companies, Intel fell 1.3 per cent a day after activist investor Dan Loeb of Third Point sharply criticised the chipmaker and called for it to consider divestitures.

Shares of Intel had risen about 5 per cent on Tuesday following reports of Mr Loeb's statement.

AFP