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- U.S. stocks gained Tuesday as vaccine progress further strengthened stocks hit hardest by the pandemic. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite rose to record highs.
- Investors hailed Pfizer and BioNTech’s request for regulatory approval for their coronavirus vaccine in the European Union. If approved, the shot could be released before the New Year.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of persistent risks to the US economy during a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee. The comment did little to dent the upside in investors
- Bitcoin fell 6.3%, to $ 18,157.38, before recovering to $ 19,000. The coin hit a new all-time high of $ 19,914.33 early Tuesday morning.
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7% to $ 44.12 a barrel.
- Watch the live major indices update here.
U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday as vaccine advances continued to lift stocks hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite closed at record levels.
Pfizer and BioNTech have requested regulatory approval for their vaccine in the European Union; if approved, the shot could start rolling out before the new year.
Optimism about vaccine launches continues to shift investor liquidity away from growth stocks to riskier areas of the market like value stocks and cyclical sectors. Communications, financials and technology stocks took the S&P 500 to its intraday record, while consumer staples and industrials underperformed.
Here’s where the US indices were at the close of 4pm ET on Tuesday:
Read more: Shelby Osborne achieved financial freedom by using a unique twist on a classic real estate investment strategy. Here’s how he built a portfolio of 53, starting in his 20s.
Testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin before the Senate Banking Committee did little to reverse the bullish sentiments. Powell highlighted the economic risks of the coronavirus renaissance, adding that a prolonged battle with the virus will leave significant scars.
“The increase in new COVID-19 cases, both here and abroad, is worrying and could prove challenging for the next few months,” he said in a comment posted ahead of the hearing. “A full economic recovery is unlikely until people are confident it is safe to bounce back across a wide range of activities.”
The next central bank officials will meet on December 15 and 16 to discuss the Fed’s political stance.
The rally in the market retraced Monday’s losses and pushed the bullish trend in stocks in December. Shares fell earlier in the week as investors secured profits. The major indices still posted historic monthly gains, largely driven by encouraging vaccine news as COVID-19 cases soared.
Read more: HSBC claims to buy these 31 global stocks that are exposed to the biggest disruptions of the technology pandemic and set to become growth engines of the future
The rise from the beginning of the month suggests that the uptrend will persist until the end of the year, but the downside risks persist. Daily coronavirus cases remain at high levels. As Congress met again to negotiate a new stimulus deal, no proposals garnered the support of either party leader.
These factors, “coupled with the market history of more modest performance in the month following a double-digit return, can lead to short-term market instability,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest.
BlackBerry has grown the most in history after the company announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon to develop and commercialize BlackBerry’s “intelligent vehicle data platform.” The cloud computing platform allows automakers to record vehicle sensor data and improve systems, according to a press release.
Tesla made a profit after the S&P Dow Jones Indices said the automaker would be added to the S&P 500 in a single step on December 21. A multi-step process was considered to include Tesla in the index.
Read more: Buy these 10 stocks set to rise and destroy Wall Street’s expectations in the recovery from COVID-19, RBC says
Zoom Video plummeted after driving slower sales growth through the end of the year. Although the company’s third-quarter report beat Wall Street estimates, the moderation in growth has led some to question whether the stock’s 200% rally since the market’s March low was sustainable.
Bitcoin plummeted as low as $ 18,157.38 before writing off losses and climbing above $ 19,000. The cryptocurrency hit a record high of $ 19,914.33 on Tuesday morning before oversized selling stifled the rally.
Spot gold jumped 2.3% to $ 1,817.37 an ounce. The US dollar weakened relative to most of the Group of 10 peers and Treasury yields rose sharply.
Oil prices fell as OPEC members resolved to delay an expected increase in production for January. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7% to $ 44.12 a barrel. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell 2.1% to $ 46.88 a barrel, to its intraday lows.
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