NEW YORK, Nov 16 — Wall Street stocks rose early today following upbeat news on a coronavirus vaccine and merger announcements in the banking and retail industries.
US biotech firm Moderna said its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95 per cent effective, a hopeful follow-up to a positive announcement last week by Pfizer on its own vaccine for the deadly virus.
The Moderna news helped offset worries about the rising coronavirus outbreak in the near-term, lifting major indices in anticipation of an economic recovery.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2 per cent at 29,828.59.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 3,611.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 11,890.44.
Analysts said sentiment was further boosted by announcements that Spain’s BBVA would sell its US unit to PNC Financial Services for US$11.6 billion (RM47.8 billion), and The Home Depot’s plan to acquire wholesaler HD Supply Holdings for US$8 billion.
Major economic releases this week include retail sales, housing starts for October and earnings from Walmart. — AFP
