Stocks Hit Highest Since February on Tech Rally: Markets Wrap
- AstraZeneca gains ahead of results from early vaccine studies
- Italy-German bond spread falls to the lowest level since March
Pedestrians are seen reflected in a quotation board displaying stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo.
Photographer: PHILIP FONG/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. stocks advanced to the highest since February, with the stay-at-home trade thriving even as investors received encouraging news on a potential virus vaccine. The dollar weakened to an almost six-week low.
The S&P 500 turned positive for the year as its rally took it to levels last seen just as the pandemic was starting. The Nasdaq 100 jumped the most since April, hitting a record high, after Amazon.com and Zoom Technologies soared on demand for companies that benefit from diminished economic activity. AstraZeneca jumped to a record after results from a vaccine trial were published, but the rally faded after analysts said the data, while good, weren’t as stellar as hoped for. A slew of earnings are due this week, including from Microsoft, Intel, Tesla and Twitter.