Stocks were trading higher Tuesday, as investors weighed record U.S. hospitalizations from COVID-19 hit and stalling progress on talks over a coronavirus aid package against incrementally positive developments on the vaccine front.
How are stock benchmarks performing?
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rose 122 points, or 0.4%, to 30,191.
- The S&P 500 SPX was up 11 points, or 0.3%, at 3,703.
- The Nasdaq Composite COMP climbed 53 points, or 0.4%, at 12,573.
On Monday, the Nasdaq ended at a record but the broader market finished lower.
What’s driving the market?
The global tally for confirmed cases of coronavirus rose above 67.6 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose above 1.5 million. The U.S. has the highest case tally in the world at 14.9 million and the highest death toll at 283,746, or more than a fifth of the global total. U.S. hospitalizations due to coronavirus hit a record on Monday and are forcing new lockdowns in California.
Meanwhile, the U.K. began its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. PFE and BioNTech SE BNTX, with 90-year-old Maggie Keenan the first person to receive the inoculation in the country since regulators gave emergency authorization for its use.
Read: This chart shows how much COVID moved the stock market this year
In the U.S., the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine likely has a “favorable safety profile,” according to documents published Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. As part of the FDA approval process, a committee of independent medical experts will meet Thursday to discuss and then vote on whether the regulator should authorize what could be the first COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S.
Pfizer shares were up 2.4%, while BioNTech’s rose 1.4%.
In Washington, a bipartisan group, led by Sen Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was completing the language on a $908 billion package on Tuesday.
The package has been endorsed by top congressional Democrats, while McConnell, R-Ky., continued to advocate for his own, slimmed down proposal, Politico reported.
“There is this yin and yang, back and forth on stimulus. But it does seem like there’s progress,” said Mark Travis, CEO of Intrepid Capital, in an interview.
Brexit also was on investors’ radars, as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to travel to Brussels this week for a make-or-break meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the remaining differences in talks to avoid a no-deal exit from the European Union, an event that could potentially roil markets anew.
In fact, market participants are looking ahead to a series of key events later in the week, including Thursday’s meeting of the European Central Bank, the start of a European Union summit, and the FDA’s review of the vaccine candidate.
In economic data, third quarter productivity was revised to show a 4.6% rise versus a previous 4.9% estimate.
Which stocks were in focus?
- Shares of Tesla Inc. TSLA held steady after the electric vehicle market leader filed for the sale of up to $5 billion worth of stock. Tesla shares are up nearly 650% in the year to date.
- Apple shares AAPL were in focus after the iPhone maker announced its own over-the-ear headphones Tuesday, called AirPods Max.
- Shares of U.S. Steel X were up 11% after it said it planned to acquire the remaining stake in Big River Steel for about $774 million from cash on hand.
What are other markets doing?
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y fell 1.8 basis point to 0.91%. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.
- The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, rose 0.1%.
- The pan-European Stoxx 600 Europe index XX:SXXP rose 0.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX was up less than 0.1%.
- Oil futures were steady, with the U.S. benchmark CL at $45.75 a barrel. Gold futures were slightly higher, with the February contract GCG21 up $8.90, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,874.90 an ounce.
