On Tuesday, Wall Street starts the new trading week after Memorial Day – and with significant markups. Market observers believe the reason for this is the growing confidence that a vaccine against the coronavirus could already be available this year.
Hopes of developing a Covid-19 vaccine and reviving business have encouraged investors to enter the US stock market. The broad share index S&P 500 passed the psychologically important 3000-meter mark for the first time in a good two and a half months, but was unable to maintain this level until close of trading.
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The Dow Jones won 2.2 percent to 24,995 points. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.2 percent to 9,340 points. The S&P 500 gained 1.2 percent to 2,991 points. Also the Dax screwed his meter up further.
Early hopes?
Investors are betting that a vaccine will be ready for the market before the end of the year, said Art Hogan, chief investment strategist at the asset manager National Securities. They also expected the economy to recover as more and more states relax their pandemic restrictions. California, the state with the strictest restrictions, announced that it would allow customers to enter stores again. The New York Stock Exchange reopened floor trading. On this occasion, the governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, rang the traditional bell for the stock market launch.
Patrick Fruzzetti, managing director of investment adviser Rosenau, warned against prudence. “The economy will not accelerate from zero to 100 within a few months.” The recovery will take a long time.
An announcement from Novavax stoked general optimism. The pharmaceutical company starts with the first tests of a corona vaccine in humans. “The market is reacting as if we already have the vaccine,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at brokerage AvaTrade. “We are still at an early stage in drug development.” Novavax shares rose by 13 percent in the meantime and were up over four percent at the close of trading. The rival Moderna, which announced trials of its vaccine candidate in humans last week, lost over eleven percent.
Merck & Co and oil on the upswing
Paper from Merck & Co. was also in demand, increasing by 1.2 percent. The US pharmaceutical company enters the race for corona drugs. Merck took over an Austrian vaccine manufacturer for this. In parallel, the company agreed to collaborate on the development of another vaccine and a drug to treat the disease.
The economic optimists were also outnumbered on the commodity markets. The US crude oil grade WTI rose by one percent to $ 34.25 a barrel (159 liters). She also benefits from speculation that the major exporting countries will extend their current funding restrictions into the second half of the year, said Bjarne Schieldorp, chief investment strategist for commodities at Bank SEB.
At the same time, the “anti-crisis currency” gold fell by one percent to $ 1,713 per troy ounce (31.1 grams). Investors also withdrew from the world’s leading currency. This pushed the dollar index, which reflects the price of major currencies, down 0.8 percent.
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