U.S. stocks rose slightly on Wednesday as investors digested more positive news on the coronavirus vaccine front.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 70 points, while the S&P 500 traded near the flat line. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%.
Pfizer released the final data on its vaccine candidate with BioNTech, which turned out even better than the initial data. The companies said the vaccine was 95% effective in preventing Covid-19 and fended off severe infection in the trial, adding it plans to submit an application for emergency use authorization “within days.”
Dow-member Boeing jumped 4% as the Federal Aviation Administration lifted its ban on its 737 Max after a 20-month grounding following two deadly crashes.
Meanwhile, Target shares rose about 2% after the retailer’s third quarter earnings topped estimates because of booming digital sales.
The major Averages suffered their first negative day in three in the previous session. The Dow fell more than 150 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5%. The Nasdaq dipped just 0.2% amid a pop in Tesla shares following announcement that the electric vehicle company will join the S&P 500.
Small-caps continued to outperform on Tuesday with the Russell 2000 gaining 0.37% to close at another record.
Stocks are having a strong month on the back of positive news from two U.S. drugmakers about successful Covid-19 vaccines. The Dow is up more than 12% and the S&P 500 is up more than 10% in November. The Nasdaq Composite is up more than 9%, lagging as investors ditch technology shares of cyclical plays.
“For the most part, the economy has been recovering faster than many expected, as consumer spending has held up quite well throughout the crisis,” Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management, said in a note. “Much of this can be seen through consumer spending habits, where the pandemic has caused consumers to shift spending away from service-oriented products and into to more goods-related products.”
“While this has been beneficial to the economy overall, it has created a bifurcated recovery, as some sectors of the economy continue to be extremely depressed,” he added.
Equities are rising amid a backdrop of worsening Covid-19 infections in the U.S. The U.S. seven-day average of daily new Covid-19 infections surpassed 150,000 for the first time on Monday, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Retail sales came in lower-than-expected for October as millions of Americans lost their unemployment benefits amid the surge in cases.
Lowe’s shares dropped 6% after the home improvement retailer reported third-quarter earnings and a profit outlook slightly short of estimates.
A slew of other retailers report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, with chipmaker Nvidia, Copa Holdings and L Brands set to release earnings following Wednesday’s session.
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