Stocks rose on Wednesday as a rally that was sparked by news of an effective Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine earlier this week broadened out to major tech names that have been under pressure recently.
The Dow Jones Industrials advanced 42.77 points to 29,463.69, putting it on pace for a three-day winning streak
The S&P 500 recovered 23.78 points to 3,569.31.
The NASDAQ regained 176.14 points, or 1.5%, to 11,730.
Apple gained 0.8%. Netflix climbed 0.3%. Facebook jumped 0.8%, and Amazon rose.0.9%. Alphabet and Microsoft both traded 0.8% higher.
The Dow was coming off two back-to-back strong sessions, jumping 262 points on Tuesday and surging more than 800 points on Monday following Pfizer and BioNTech’s announcement about their more than 90% effective Covid-19 vaccine.
Eli Lilly’s antibody drug was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use late Monday. The agency said the drug could be used to treat mild-to-moderate cases of Covid-19 in patients who are older than 12 years old.
The vaccine and antibody drug news comes as the United States once again topped its prior day record of daily new Covid-19 infections, on a seven-day average, while also crossing the bleak milestone of more than 10 million cases nationwide on Monday.
The seven-day average of daily new cases Monday was 108,964, a 37% increase from a week ago, according to an analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were unchanged, maintaining Tuesday’s 0.96% yield Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.26 to $42.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $13.90 to $1,862.50