NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks advanced yesterday following another upbeat announcement about a new coronavirus vaccine and president-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Janet Yellen to be Treasury secretary.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1% to 29,591.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.6% to 3,577.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2% at 11,880.63.
British drugs group AstraZeneca and Oxford University said they will seek regulatory approval for their coronavirus vaccine after it showed up to 90% effectiveness.
The news comes on the heels of similar announcements by Pfizer and BioNTech, and Moderna that have supported stocks the last couple of weeks despite mounting Covid-19 caseloads hat have prompted renewed restrictions on movement in some states.
Markets also applauded Yellen’s expected appointment to the Treasury, confirmed to AFP by a financial source with knowledge of the decision made by Biden.
Yellen, the former head of the Federal Reserve, is a known quantity on financial markets and “has been favourable to the idea of fiscal stimulus”, said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.
Analysts also cited optimism over the holiday shopping season, which officially kicks off on Friday.
The National Retail Federation projected holiday sales will rise between 3.6% and 5.2% over 2019 to between US$755.3 billion and US$767.7 billion (RM3 trillion and RM3.14 trillion).
The trade group said households have cash from a strong stock market and will get a boost from having spent less than normal on travel and entertainment due to Covid-19.
Retailers had a good session, with Macy’s gaining 15%, Gap (6.9%) and Best Buy (2.4%). – AFP, November 24, 2020
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