FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Stocks rise with Nasdaq at record on vaccine hope

Stocks rise with Nasdaq at record on vaccine hope

U.S. stocks rose as positive vaccine developments and better-than-expected manufacturing data tempered concern over a jump in coronavirus cases. Treasuries and the dollar fell.

The S&P 500 rose for a third day while the Nasdaq Composite jumped to a record as an early trial of an experimental shot from Pfizer and BioNtech showed that it's safe and prompted patients to produce antibodies. Earlier Wednesday, equities came off session highs after California and Arizona reported their biggest daily virus case increases and Houston's intensive-care units exceeded full capacity. FedEx soared on a surprise profit, while Boeing and Walgreens Boots Alliance weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Traders also monitored minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting that showed participants viewing the economy as needing support "for some time." Fed officials showed no readiness at their June meeting to commit to yield-curve control, but they did have an eagerness to provide more guidance in coming months on the future path of interest rates and asset purchases. A closely watched measure of manufacturing jumped in June to the highest in more than a year.

"There's this inherent tension between health of the economy and health of the population," said David Lebovitz, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. "It's going to be the way to think about what drives markets over the next couple of weeks or months."

The U.S. is preparing to roll out sanctions to punish senior Chinese officials over human-rights abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang, two people familiar with the matter said. Relations between Washington and Beijing have soured badly in the months since the first-phase trade deal was signed, while the coronavirus pandemic made many of its elements moot.

The monthly U.S. jobs report will be released Thursday.

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These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

- The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%.

- The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1%.

- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%.

- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1%.

Currencies

- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.

- The euro increased 0.2%, to $1.1255.

- The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4%, to 107.46 per dollar.

Bonds

- The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points, to 0.68%.

- Germany's 10-year yield climbed six basis points, to -0.40%.

- Britain's 10-year yield gained four basis points, to 0.211%.

Commodities

- The Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 0.3%.

- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1%, to $39.71 a barrel.

- Gold dipped 1.1%, to $1,780.70 an ounce.

 

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