S&P 500 eyes new high on economic reports, vaccine news
BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and U.S. futures rose Tuesday on improved economic reports from China and as more drug makers sought regulatory approval for their coronavirus vaccines.
The S&P 500 looks set to hit new record highs when trading opens on Wall Street. Markets in London, Frankfurt, Shanghai and Tokyo advanced as investors looked ahead to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s appearance before legislators a day after he said the pace of recovery is moderating.
Investors are optimistic about the development of a possible coronavirus vaccine despite caution about the short-term economic impact of rising virus cases in the United States and Europe.
The future “seems incredibly bright and bullish,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a report.
On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 1.1%. For the S&P 500, that would erase losses from Monday to push it above the high it notched on Friday.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London rose 1.9% to 6,387 and Frankfurt's DAX added 1% to 13,418. The CAC 40 in Paris gained 1.1% to 5,577.
Sentiment was boosted after the European Medicines Agency said it will convene a meeting on Dec. 29 to decide if there is enough data about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for it to be approved.
The agency also said it could decide as early as Jan. 12 whether to approve a rival COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc.
Moderna, said Monday it is ready to apply for emergency approval in the United States and Britain. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech are asking to begin vaccinations in the U.S. in December. British regulators also are assessing the Pfizer shot and another from AstraZeneca.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index...