Friends
We mentioned last week that there was a good chance we would hear from Moderna this week about their Covid-19 vaccine and indeed we did this morning. Using similar technology to Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna’s efficacy was even better than the Pfizer results. Simply put, our pharmaceutical companies are doing great work advancing medicine at an historic pace. We should also hear from J&J and AstraZeneca soon with results of their vaccine trials. Next up will be getting FDA emergency approval and then producing the vaccine for the mass public over time. This is all very exciting news and investors have acted accordingly. Stocks continue to rise on hopes that there is a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 470 points to finish the day at 29,950. The S&P 500 was up 41 points to close at 3,626. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 94 points to close at 11,924. Gold was down $1 to trade at $1,885 per ounce, while oil was up $1.17 to trade at $41.30 per barrel WTI.
We will get a lot of earnings from retailers this week including Kohl’s, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Walmart, Macy’s and Target. Next, of course, we move into holiday season and the Christmas shopping season. It will be interesting to see who is feeling good about the next month and a half. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
