Stocks were higher in early trading Monday following a volatile week on Wall Street as investors eye a key event where the Federal Reserve could hint at prospects for tapering stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 234.57 points to 35,354.65.
The S&P 500 zoomed 37.52 points to 4,479.19.
The NASDAQ Composite 170.67 points, or 1.2%, to 14,886.09.
For the month of August, major benchmarks are poised to post modest gains. The S&P 500 is up 1.1% month to date, while the blue-chip Dow has gained 0.5% and the NASDAQ has climbed 0.3%.
Shares of vaccine makers are trading higher after the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval for the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Monday, the first licensing of a vaccine for COVID-19.
Pfizer shares are up 3.7%. Its partner BioNTech’s stock jumped 9% and Moderna is 5% higher. Trillium Therapeutics is soaring on news that it’ll be acquired by Pfizer. Its shares are up 188%.
Traders are eagerly awaiting the Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed’s timeline for dialing back its $120 billion a month bond-buying program. The event takes place virtually on Thursday and Friday.
The Fed previously was going to conduct the event in a mixed virtual and live presentation, but decided Friday to go all virtual in light of the rising virus risk.
Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech will be titled “The Economic Outlook,” which “may suggest the speech could have a more near-term focus,” Nomura economist Aichi Amemiya said in a note.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday’s 1.26%.
Oil prices recovered $3.06 to $65.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $17.70 to $1,801.70 U.S. an ounce.