Market Recap
US Markets:
U.S. stocks rose to start the week after another pharma company released encouraging vaccine data. Moderna reported that clinical trials of their COVID-19 vaccine indicated a 94.5% efficacy rate. This topped last week’s 90% report from Pfizer and BioNTech, and further lifted expectations of a strong economic recovery. According to TS Lombard analysts Steven Blitz and Andrea Cicione, a vaccine “turns what could have been a prolonged crisis into something closer to a natural disaster (large shock, swift recovery).”
The Dow Jones gained 470.63 points, or 1.6%, to close at a record 29,950.44. The S&P 500 also closed at an all-time high climbing 1.2% to 3,626.91. The Nasdaq also gained 0.8% to 11,924.13.
Cryptocurrency:
Cryptocurrencies continued their charge forward as of late with major gains on the day. Bitcoin surged over 5% and eclipsed $16,500 to trade at $16,769.45- easily its highest level since 2018. Bitcoin continues its rally towards $20,000 as many expect the cryptocurrency to consolidate before December. Chainlink also advanced 4.12%, while Litcoin led the way for a second consecutive day, skyrocketing by over 6% again.
Overall Market:
Worldwide markets surged due to the Moderna vaccine news. European shares rallied on Monday, with Frankfurt’s DAX 30 adding 0.5% to close at 13,139, near its two-month high which it hit last week. Other major European indexes also rose between 1.7% and 2.6%. German BioNtech, however tanked 15% following Moderna’s report. International markets also were spurred onwards due to positive sentiment from Asian markets after 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region signed a deal to form the world’s largest free trade bloc. Additional economic data from China and Japan also raised hopes of a quicker global economic recovery. Canada’s TSX also closed above 16,800 and notched its highest close since February. Outside of Moderna’s news, a 4% jump in the heavyweight energy sector caused the gains as well. Brazil’s Ibovespa also jumped by 1.7%.
There was mixed economic data today. The New York Empire State Manufacturing Index fell for the second month in a row to 6.3 in November from 10.5 in October. This was well below market forecasts of 12.75. It is the lowest reading in 3 months, pointing to a below-average growth in business activity in the NY state. Aluminium also approached a 2-year high, coffee rose to a 2-month high, and gold remained below $1,900.
WHATS UP
Cyclical stocks that would benefit from an economic recovery and reopening led the way higher again. This continues the theme from last week. United Airlines was up 5.2%, and cruise-line Carnival closed 9.7% higher. Bank stocks such as Citigroup and Wells Fargo also gained more than 3% each while JPMorgan Chase advanced 2.8%. Moderna predictably led the way as its shares surged by 9.5% on the day.
Pandemic winning stocks such as Netflix and Amazon lagged behind the broader market closing down .8% and flat respectively.
Source: CNBC, TradingEconomics, Yahoo! Finance
