New York — The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Tuesday, with investors betting a Covid-19 vaccine will be available soon, and more confident about a speedy economic recovery after upbeat Chinese factory data.
The partners are neck-and-neck with rival Moderna, which also applied for emergency approval from the European regulator. Its stock tumbled nearly 8% from a record high the day before. Earlier in the day, global equities got a boost from data that showed China's factory activity in November increased at its fastest pace in a decade. Several other countries also reported sharp upticks in factory activity.All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with communication services up 2% and the leading gains.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of US legislators unveiled a $908bn Covid-19 relief bill aimed at breaking a months-long deadlock between Democrats and Republicans over new emergency assistance for small businesses, unemployed people, airlines and other industries during the pandemic.