US close: Stocks finish higher as single-shot vaccine gets approved

Wall Street stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday, as government bond yields continued to draw investor attention, and a single-shot Covid-19 vaccine received emergency use authorisation by the FDA.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.35% at 31,961.86, as the S&P 500 added 1.14% to 3,925.43, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.99% to 13,597.97.

The Dow closed 424.51 points higher on Wednesday, adding to the modest gains recorded a day earlier after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that inflation was still "soft" and stated the US economy was "a long way" from its goals for both employment and inflation goals.

Powell's testimony on Capitol Hill continued on Wednesday, with the Fed head addressing the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

Wednesday's primary focus was the 10-year Treasury yield note, which ended the day at 1.38%, having earlier topped 1.4% to hit its highest level since February last year.

That was likely something that could prompt investors to rotate out of stocks and into bonds, while also hamstringing growth companies in the technology sector that had previously benefited from the low-rate environment.

Biden's Covid-19 stimulus plan was also in focus on Wednesday, with the Democrat-led House likely to approve the stimulus package before the President looks to push the full package through the Senate.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 11.4% in the week ended 19 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as higher mortgage rates weighed on demand.0

"Mortgage rates have increased in six of the last eight weeks, with the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate last week climbing above 3% to its highest level since September 2020," said MBA's Joel Kan.

"As a result of these higher rates, overall refinance activity fell 11% to its lowest level since December 2020, but remained 50% higher than a year ago.”

Elsewhere, new home sales increased to 923,000 in January, according to the Department of Commerce, well ahead of both estimates for a reading of 856,000 and last month's revised reading of 885,000.

In the corporate space, Tesla shares were in the green by 6.18% after word broke that Ark Invest's Cathie Wood raised her stake in the firm by more than $120m during Tuesday's selloff.

Pharmaceuticals and consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson was ahead 1.34%, after the Food and Drug Administration approved its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $229.34 8.12%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $103.31 3.69%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $330.64 3.58%
Visa Inc. (V) $219.43 3.45%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $63.19 3.39%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $211.03 2.92%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $63.69 2.53%
American Express Co. (AXP) $139.89 2.15%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $123.21 2.07%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $240.47 2.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $259.97 -2.72%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $133.21 -1.67%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $229.99 -1.06%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $125.35 -0.41%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $135.65 -0.35%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $74.57 0.04%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $127.66 0.11%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.12 0.16%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $197.51 0.21%

S&P 500 - Risers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $31.27 9.26%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $32.12 8.77%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $54.96 8.60%
Boeing Co. (BA) $229.34 8.12%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $28.16 8.06%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $34.65 7.94%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $49.56 7.62%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $20.94 7.61%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $96.66 7.34%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $72.37 6.66%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $167.53 -9.62%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $162.31 -3.73%
Macy's Inc. (M) $15.30 -3.65%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $59.38 -3.24%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $73.06 -3.23%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $639.00 -3.01%
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) $56.05 -2.98%
Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) $60.21 -2.78%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $259.97 -2.72%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $161.08 -2.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $742.02 6.18%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $596.90 6.09%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $122.81 5.74%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $21.82 5.61%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $157.50 5.32%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $139.42 5.14%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $70.53 5.03%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $92.52 4.86%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $179.39 3.78%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $20.55 3.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $167.53 -9.62%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $304.01 -5.77%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,714.00 -3.48%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $59.38 -3.24%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $17.94 -3.13%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $96.37 -3.12%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $137.68 -2.47%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $117.50 -2.29%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $458.60 -2.01%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $101.13 -1.80%