US close: Dow picks up more than 320 points on vaccine rally
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday as another round of positive Covid-19 vaccine headlines boosted optimism among traders.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.12% at 29,591.27, while the S&P 500 was 0.56% firmer at 3,577.59 and the Dow Jones saw out the session 0.22% stronger at 11,880.63.
The Dow Jones closed 327.79 points higher on Monday, erasing losses recorded in the final session of last week that came as the US reported a record-high spike of 195,000 new cases.
News that AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford's vaccine had proven itself to have an efficacy of 70% in interim analysis, with one dosing regimen showing effectiveness of 90% and a second demonstrating 62% efficacy, had market participants feeling even more positive about a potential economic reopening in 2021.
Cruise and airline stocks were in the green on the back of the announcement.
However, despite the positive vaccine news, new coronavirus cases were still on the rise, with the seven-day average up by at least 5% week-on-week across 43 states, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Also in the news, Donald Trump was again urged by allies like Chris Christie, Larry Hogan, Kevin Cramer and Steve Schwarzman, to concede the election after continuing to make unsubstantiated claims of widespread electoral fraud.
The president's latest setback came after a Pennsylvania judge dismissed an attempt to have millions of postal votes in the state invalidated.
On the macro front, the Chicago Fed's national activity index rose from 0.32 in September to 0.83 last month as 61 of the 85 individual indicators made positive contributions.
Elsewhere, IHS Markit's November manufacturing PMI flash printed at 56.7, up from 53.4 in October to beat market expectations for a reading of 53. The reading marked the strongest expansion in factory activity since September 2014 as business confidence soared to the strongest since February 2015.
The flash services index also rose to 57.7.
In the corporate space, Warner Music was in the green after revenues topped forecasts, while Urban Outfitters advanced in extended trading after hitting record revenues despite the pandemic.