Stocks rise broadly; Pfizer gains after FDA approves vaccine
Stocks were solidly higher Monday, placing the S&P 500 within reach of a new high
TOKYO — Stocks are solidly higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Monday, placing the S&P 500 on pace to recoup its losses from last week and eclipse its all-time high.
The benchmark index was up 1% as of 2:40 p.m. Eastern, enough to more than make up for its first weekly loss since July. Technology, communication and financial stocks powered much of the S&P 500’s gains. Companies that rely on consumer spending also helped lift the market. Energy stocks notched the biggest gain as the price of U.S. crude oil jumped 5.3%, recovering some of the ground it lost last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.7%, putting the tech-heavy index within striking distance of a record high.
Small-company stocks were outgaining the broader market. The Russell 2000 index was up 1.8%.
Pfizer rose 2.5% after the Food & Drug Administration gave full approval to its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine had been under an emergency use authorization since December, but the full approval could convince some reluctant Americans to now get their shot and will likely give local authorities the legal backing to impose mandates.
BioNTech, a German drug manufacturer which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, jumped 9% on the news. Moderna, which developed a similar vaccine that uses the same technology, vaulted 6.9%.
The market remains in a summer slowdown, with late August being historically one of the slowest times for trading with the exception of the Christmas holiday season. Markets are expected to pick up in volume and volatility after the Labor Day weekend.
Investors will be looking to the Federal Reserve as the Kansas City Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming starts later this week. It will likely provide Wall Street with more insight into what the Fed may do about inflation.
Last week, minutes from the most recent Fed meeting showed that policymakers had discussed reducing the central bank’s bond-buying program later this year to start winding down some of the emergency measures implemented during the pandemic. They stopped short of setting a firm timeline.
In economic news, sales of previously occupied homes rose from June to July at a faster-than-expected pace of 5.99 million, more than the 5.82 million economists were expecting. Still, sales increased by only 1.5% from July last year, a more modest annual gain than it recent quarters. Homebuilders fell broadly following the report. Miami-based Lennar fell 1.1%.
