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* Goldman Sachs increases as business revenue doubles
* Energy, industrial and financial stocks lead the gains
* Indices above: Dow 0.59%, S&P 0.57%, Nasdaq 0.05% (Updates in the early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 15 (Reuters) – US stocks rose Wednesday with the S&P 500 hovering at its highest level in more than four months after promising first data for a possible COVID-19 vaccine and a strong quarterly presentation of Goldman Sachs.
Moderna Inc rose 5.8% after a small-scale study showed that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced high levels of antibodies to the virus.
Travel-related stocks Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, Marriott International and Wynn Resorts rose 6% to 17%, with the S&P 1500 airline index up 6%.
“A vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 remains the best hope for the economy,” said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors in Torrance, California.
“Although we like to see advances in a vaccine, the fact is that it will not be available for some time and the number of cases across the country continues to increase every day.”
The United States has failed to control the coronavirus, and there is a high level of uncertainty about how much the pandemic will affect the economy, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said as several solar belt states reported an increase in COVID-19. cases recently.
The top three US stock indexes have recovered most of their losses from the coronavirus-led crash, with a series of stimulus measures and encouraging economic data that raised the S&P 500 to 5% of its record in February.
Now that the second-quarter earnings season is underway, investors are looking for annual forecasts from top companies to spot signs of the pace of the rebound in American companies.
Goldman Sachs rose 0.6% as its trading revenue doubled in the second quarter, driven by large swings in the equity and bond markets since March.
Morgan Stanley gained 0.6% and Bank of America rose 1.3% ahead of its results on Thursday, which would close the profits of the six major US banks. The broader bank index rose 2.0%.
At 12:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 156.43 points, or 0.59%, to 26,799.02, the S&P 500 rose 18.24 points, or 0.57%, to 3,215.76. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.91 points, or 0.05%, to 10,493.48.
Earnings for the Nasdaq were limited by online retail giant Amazon.com Inc, the video streaming platform Netflix Inc, and Microsoft Corp, which slipped after recently rising to record levels.
“It is a sign that we are returning to normalcy so that people begin to move out of those areas that have really benefited the most from this unique recession,” said Phillips.
UnitedHealth Group Inc fell 1.8% after warning of rising costs later this year as Americans catch up on less urgent surgeries halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Forward issues outperformed declines by a ratio of 4.46 to 1 on the NYSE by a ratio of 3.40 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P Index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and two new lows. (Report from Medha Singh in Bangalore; Maju Samuel Edition)
