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Investing.com – The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs Monday as positive Covid-19 vaccine news from Moderna sparked a rally in value on stocks on hopes of a quicker recovery.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) on Monday said its coronavirus vaccine candidate was 94.5% effective at protecting people from the disease, sending its shares more than 10% higher. The company said detailed data from the study was expected later in November, and added that it planned to request emergency use of its vaccine by early December.
“These are obviously very exciting results,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, U.S. top infectious disease expert, told CNN on Monday. “It’s just as good as it gets — 94.5 percent is truly outstanding.”
The update added to the recent optimism in the race to find a vaccine after Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) last week said its candidate was proven to 90% effective in a clinical trial.
Airlines, banks and cruise operators – sectors hit hard by the pandemic amid global restrictions to curb the virus – racked up gains, propelling the broader market higher.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) closed higher, with the latter up 5%.
Energy, meanwhile, surged on rising oil prices as a speedier end to the pandemic could shore up demand.
Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron (NYSE:CVX), (NYSE:XOM) closed up 7% and 5%, respectively.
Tech, meanwhile, also contributed to the broader move higher as gains in chip stocks, led by Micron.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) jumped nearly 7% on bets the rapid increase in digital transformation will continue to support the rebound in demand for memory chips after a recent glut had weighed on prices.
The Fab 5 cut losses to close above the flatline. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) were about unchanged on the day, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) closed higher.
The positive vaccine news, however, dealt a blow to stay at home stocks including Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) and Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM).
In other news, HD Supply (NASDAQ:HDS) ended 25% higher after Home Depot (NYSE:HD) agreed to acquire the industrial goods wholesaler for $8.7 billion. Home sold HD Supply to private-equity firms in 2007.
