Nuveen Chief Equity Strategist Bob Doll discusses what’s driving the market.
U.S. equity markets surged Wednesday after an early trial of a COVID-19 vaccine showed promise and quarterly results from Goldman Sachs blew past Wall Street estimates.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 418 points, or 1.57 percent, in the opening minutes of trading while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.05 percent and 0.78 percent, respectively.
The experimental COVID-19 vaccine, under development by Moderna, produced “binding anitbodies” in all 45 patients during a Phase 1 trial, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
The optimistic results boosted shares of companies in some of the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19, including airlines, casino operators and hotels.
Looking at earnings, Goldman Sachs reported earnings and revenue that exceed Wall Street estimates after a record-breaking quarter in its investment bank division and the firm’s strongest trading performance in nine years.
UnitedHealth posted better-than-expected results, benefitting from lower payouts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere, Apple scored a major victory after the European Union’s second-highest court ruled the tech giant would not have to pay the 13 billion euros ($14.8 billion) tax bill that EU antitrust officials said was owed to Ireland.
Google announced a $4.5 billion investment, good for a 7.73 percent stake, in India-based telecommunications network Jio Platforms. Rival Facebook purchased a 9.99 percent stake in the company earlier this year.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 48 cents to $40.77 per barrel, while gold dropped $4 to $1,809.40 an ounce.
U.S. Treasurys were under modest pressure, driving the yield on the 10-year note up by 2.6 basis points to 0.64 percent.
In Europe, France’s CAC paced the advance, up 1.9 percent while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC were higher by 1.51 percent and 1.34 percent, respectively.
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Asian markets finished mixed with Japan’s Nikkei surging 1.59 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edging higher by 0.01 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite sliding 1.56 percent.
