Dow climbs 228 points on positive vaccine data, big Goldman earnings beat
- US stocks rose on Wednesday after the drugmaker Moderna announced that all participants in an early trial of its coronavirus vaccine candidate developed antibodies.
- Major indexes were also lifted by strong quarterly earnings from Goldman Sachs that handily beat analysts' profit estimates.
- The so-called reopening trade gained, while oil also climbed.
- Read more on Business Insider.
US stocks rose on Wednesday following positive news about a coronavirus vaccine from Moderna and a blockbuster earnings report from Goldman Sachs.
Moderna announced that all participants in an early trial of its vaccine candidate developed antibodies. Shares surged as much as 18% on the news before paring gains later in the day. The so-called reopening trade also gained amid surging optimism, with airlines, cruise lines, and retailers climbing.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs handily beat Wall Street earnings estimates, driven by strong results in the trading and investment-banking divisions.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 3,226.56, up 0.9%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 26,870.10, up 0.9% (228 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 10,550.49, up 0.6%
"It goes without saying that a vaccine will be the gamechanger in the pandemic, the thing that will allow life to return to normal and businesses and households to thrive once again," said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda. "So it's hardly surprising that investors get a little excited when the results of these trials emerge, even those in the early stages."
US industrial production jumped 5.4% in June, the largest monthly jump since 1959, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. The gauge of manufacturing output is still more than 10% below pre-crisis levels.
Still, coronavirus cases continue to climb in the US, threatening to derail the economic recovery as states are forced to pause or roll back reopening plans.
On Tuesday, the US reported more than 67,400 new COVID-19 cases, another record. Nearly half came from Texas, California, and Florida. Total US cases surged to more than 3.3 million.
Oil rose ahead of a key meeting of OPEC and its allies where producers are expected to recommend rolling back the historic output cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 2.4%, to $41.26 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 2.2%, to $43.85 per barrel, at intraday highs.