Stocks ended Wednesday on the upside with the news that a candidate Coronavirus vaccine from Moderna (MRNA) – Get report produced the desired immune response and that group Goldman Sachs (GS) – Get report posted stronger earnings than expected.
Optimism was somewhat affected by reports that China promised to retaliate after President Donald Trump stripped Hong Kong of its preferential trade status after new national security laws China imposed on the territory.
Bloomberg reported that Trump signaled to attendees that he does not want to further escalate tensions with Beijing, and that for now he has ruled out additional sanctions on top officials.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 227 points, or 0.85%, at 26,870, the S&P 500 gained 0.91% and the Nasdaq gained 0.59%.
At a time of trading Wednesday, Dow industrialists rose more than 425 points, or 1.6%
The S&P had previously erased its loss for the year.
The Federal Reserve noted in its Beige Book report that economic activity increased in almost all districts, but remained well below where it was before the pandemic.
Moderna ended 7% after its vaccine, in development by the company and the US National Institutes of Health, produced antibodies in all patients tested in an initial safety trial.
Moderna’s shares traded up to 18% on Wednesday.
The data was published Tuesday night in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.
Scientists will begin a study of 30,000 people on July 27 to determine the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine, which has infected more than 13.3 million people worldwide and killed nearly 580,000.
The United States reported 67,417 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, a one-day record.
“The icing on the cake has to be the positive update of the vaccine against the virus, since optimism about the vaccine is more than an obstacle. It is the last obstacle to the recession, ”said Stephen Innes of AxiCorp.
“The positive coverage of a possible Covid-19 vaccine represents a rotating carousel of positive news that is overwhelmingly increasing cases of viruses in the United States,” he added.
“This is really good news,” said Anthony Fauci, the immunologist who runs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“The gold standard of protection against a viral infection is neutralizing antibodies,” he added. “And the data from the study, however small, is quite clear that this vaccine is capable of inducing quite good [levels] neutralizing antibodies. “
AstraZeneca (AZN) – Get report It came after a report said a medical journal would publish positive news about the coronavirus vaccine that the biopharmaceutical giant has developed with the University of Oxford.
Goldman Sachs posted better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter as it followed Wall Street rivals with an increase in business revenue linked to market volatility during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Goldman Sachs reported earnings of $ 6.26 per share, 7.7% more than in the same period last year and well ahead of analyst estimates of $ 3.78.
Investment banking revenues increased 36% to $ 2.66 billion, echoing the increase reported by US rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM) – Get report and Citigroup (C) – Get report.
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