US: Dow, S&P 500 end at records on Covid-19 vaccine progress

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks rocketed higher on Monday with the Dow and S&P 500 ending at records following progress on another coronavirus vaccine candidate that boosted confidence in the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average packed on around 470 points, or 1.6 per cent, to finish at 29,950.44, easily topping its prior all-time high.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.2 per cent to 3,626.91, finishing at a second straight record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 11,924.13.

US biotech firm Moderna announced its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95 per cent effective, marking a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic following a similar announcement by Pfizer last week.

"At some point in time, this will get us to the other side of the pandemic and a return to normal," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.

The positive news about Moderna allowed investors to look past rising coronavirus cases that are stretching some hospital infrastructure in some parts of the United States.

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The US recorded 133,045 new Covid-19 cases on Monday and 616 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Moderna surged 9.6 per cent following the announcement, but the vaccine news also boosted equities seen as beneficiaries from the economic rebound.

This group included oil giant Chevron, jumped 7.1 per cent, and travel-oriented equities such as United Airlines, up 5.2 per cent.

Analysts said sentiment was further boosted by announcements that Spain's BBVA would sell its US unit to PNC Financial Services for US$11.6 billion, and The Home Depot's plan to re-acquire wholesaler HD Supply Holdings for US$8 billion.

Major economic releases this week include retail sales, housing starts for October and earnings from Walmart.

AFP