Stocks rise to record highs, S&P 500 closes above 3,700 for the first time; European markets close mostly higher amid vaccine optimism, Brexit uncertainty; BELEX15 remains flat
Stocks rose to fresh all-time highs on Tuesday as Pfizer started to roll out its coronavirus vaccine in the U.K. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 147 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 advanced 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%. All three of the market benchmarks were lower to start the session. Dow Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Travelers were among the best-performing Dow stocks, rising more than 1% each. Energy led the S&P 500 higher, popping more than 1%.
Pfizer shares rose more than 3% and reached their highest level in more than a year. BioNTech, which developed the vaccine alongside Pfizer, saw its stock rise by 1.8%.
European stocks closed marginally higher Tuesday afternoon, amid optimism over coronavirus vaccinations and as post-Brexit trade talks between the U.K. and EU continued to yield little progress.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up by 0.2%, with a majority of sectors and major bourses in positive territory. London’s FTSE index entered the black by the end of the session after initially trading lower.
In individual stock news, Beijer Ref shares climbed over 7% after a private equity group bought a stake in the Swedish wholesaler. At the opposite end of the Stoxx 600, Austrian semiconductor firm AMS fell 15%.
BELEX15 was nearly flat as it gained only symbolic 0.03%. There were no material changes at bigger names, while the most active was NIS, even with only RSD 0.2m in volume.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika