Wall Street Close: COVID-19 vaccine in the making lifts all boats

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended around 912 points higher, up 3.9%, near 24,597.
• The S&P 500 added 90 points, or 3.2%, to finish near 2,954.
• The Nasdaq Composite added 220 points, or 2.4%, closing near 9,235. 

Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, indicated ongoing support to help US benchmarks rally on Monday. Also, the optimism of opening the economy and signs of progress towards a vaccine helped to perk up spirits at the start of the week. The standout performer was the S&P 500 which climbed around 3.2% to 2,953.91 and made its highest close since March 6th, (surpassing the 61.8% retracement at 2,947.33).

COVID-19 vaccine in the making

The news that a phase 1 study by Moderna, Inc., of Cambridge which has developed the COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has gone well helped to lift sentiment. Consequently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended around 912 points higher, up 3.9%, near 24,597, while the S&P 500 added 90 points, or 3.2%, to finish near 2,954. The Nasdaq Composite added 220 points, or 2.4%, closing near 9,235. 

Meanwhile, a phase 2 study has been granted expected to enrol an additional 600 volunteers — half older than 55 — to provide additional immunogenicity data. There are hops that in July the company will begin a Phase 3 study, aimed at showing that the vaccine can actually prevent disease. 

“However, it’s early days,” analysts at ANZ Bank explained. “Meanwhile, speaking at the World Health Assembly, China’s Xi Jinping said China’s COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment will be made a public good when it is available. China also pledged to provide $2bn over two years to support the fight against the virus – a statement that quickly copped criticism from the Whitehouse, labelling it a ‘token’ to distract from the country’s failure to warn the world about the virus. Geopolitical tensions could linger longer than the virus.”

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