Stocks surged on Tuesday as optimism grew about the reopening of the economy and a potential coronavirus vaccine. The S&P 500 rallied 1.9%, breaking above 3,000 for the first time since March 5.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 577 points, or 2.4%. The 30-stock average also traded at levels not seen since early March, jumping above 25,000. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5% and was less than 4% removed from a record set in February.
Vaccine optimism factored prominently in early trade, as biotech Novavax announced launched phase 1 clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate. The moves on Tuesday followed a solid week for Wall Street that saw the 30-stock Dow rise 3.3%, posting its best weekly performance since April.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also climbed more than 3% last week. The S&P 500 entered Tuesday’s session up more than 34% from a March 23 low. But there were also a few technical reservations in last week’s outcome. The continuing lag by the Dow industrials below their high from April 29 shows the stock market is still showing significant signs of caution.
The index is clearly finding resistance at this level, which is also its interim-level 100-day moving average also an area of concern is Hong Kong, China announced that it plans a new security law , resulting in weekend protests in the city. For now, though, that remains a Hong Kong issue, not one for the overall markets. Stock markets may be rallying today on [vaccine] news but another story is going nowhere and will be a constant headwind for stock markets and that’s US-China tensions.