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NEW YORK: S&P 500 futures tracking hit a record Monday after US drugmaker Pfizer said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 according to initial data from a large study.
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drug manufacturers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have found no serious security problems so far and hope to apply for an emergency use authorization in the United States later this month.
S&P 500 futures soared 3.78%, while Dow contracts rose 4.69% in response, nearly doubling the day’s gains. Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 2%.
“This is very very important (news) because it validates the market’s view that the economy and profits can receive that growth path that they had before the crisis (COVID-19) hit,” said Andrea Cicione, director of TS Lombard strategy. London.
Many have seen some form of preventive medicine as the only way to boost a global economy struggling to find a way out of its worst recession in decades.
“The biggest driver of the economic outlook is external factors,” said ING analyst Carsten Brzeski. “Right now that means the development of a vaccine … So we see news like this as positive.”
Overnight, US stock index futures received a boost after Joe Biden was declared the winner in a highly controversial election.
Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania on Saturday put him above the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency, four days after Election Day, although President Donald Trump does not plan to budge anytime soon. – Reuters
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