BREAKING - Dow, S&P 500 Update Record Highs as Moderna has Better COVID Vaccine

Wall Street extended gains on Monday, driven by reinforced vaccine optimism. After Pfizer caused the stock market to switch to value stocks and return close to its record high, now it’s time for biotech firm Moderna to give its contribution. Moderna said its COVID vaccine candidate was almost 95% effective in preventing the disease, citing internal late-stage data. For comparison, Pfizer’s effectiveness was estimated at about 90%. Also, another important aspect is that Moderna’s vaccine doesn’t need to be stored at -70 degree Celsius. This is one of the reasons why Pfizer’s share price fell by about 4% while Moderna’s stock surged nearly 10%.

As for the stock indexes, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones updated the record highs on Monday, gaining 1.16% and 1.60%, respectively. Nasdaq added 0.80%.

In Asia, stocks are mixed in early trading on Tuesday, as the optimism over Moderna’s vaccine is fading. The stock market has departed from session highs.

At the time of writing, China’s Shanghai Composite is down 0.25%, and the Shenzhen Component has dropped by 1.25%. Yesterday, China released its industrial production data that beat expectations and positive retail sales. The U.S. is about to release similar reports later today.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.42% higher, and Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.21%.

South Korea’s KOSPI is down 0.02% after initial gains. Prime Minister Sye Kyun Chung introduced tighter lockdown rules for the greater Seoul area earlier on Tuesday. The country saw 230 coronavirus cases as of Monday, the highest figure since early September. Thus, public gatherings of 100 people or more have been banned.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down 0.4%.

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