About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent at 29,991.79. — AFP pic
The US Food and Drug Administration released a positively-worded briefing document about the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, a strong sign that a group of experts that meets in two days could vote to approve it just days after the agency cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 3,673.02, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 12,538.65.
Today’s gains were a reversal from yesterday’s session, when New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio warned the city could shut down again due to spiking Covid-19 cases, and the US death count hit 300,000.