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US equities tumbled on Thursday as investors focused on the accelerating number of COVID infections after an oversaturated optimism surrounding the coronavirus vaccine candidate produced by Pfizer and BieNTech.
New York state introduced more severe restrictive measures on Wednesday, as the number of cases countrywide jumped over 100,000 for the eighth day in a row.
Industrial and financial sectors dragged down the Dow and the S&P 500, with Goldman Sachs and Boeing falling about 2% and 3%, respectively.
The S&P 500 fell 1%, the Dow dropped by 1.08%, and Nasdaq lost 0.65%. Still, the S&P and Dow Jones have gained about 2% this week, driven by vaccine optimism. Equities also increased on expectations that the Congress will be divided, which won’t allow Joe Biden to initiate major changes, such as tax increases that may negatively impact corporate profits.
Speaking about the COVID vaccine, Moderna surged 6.5% after announcing it had sufficient data for a preliminary analysis of its late-stage trial of its vaccine candidate, which also relies on the mRNA technology like the Pfizer one.
On the economic front, US jobless claims dropped last week to the lowest in seven months, though the pace of job recovery still slowed given that fiscal stimulus faded. 709,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, down 48,000 from the previous week's 757,000, which was revised upwards. Analysts expected 730,000 claims.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the economy would be challenged in the next several months by the more aggressive pandemic.
In individual corporate news, Cisco Systems leaped over 8.5% after the network hardware maker reported better-than-expected results in Q3.
Walt Disney surged over 7% after reporting Q4 results that beat analyst predictions. Also, the company revealed a strong demand for its streaming services.
In Asia, stocks are mostly bearish in early trading on Friday, following the selloff in the US and Europe.
Investors are worried that producing and distributing Pfizer’s vaccine is challenging, considering that it has to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius.
New York state introduced more severe restrictive measures on Wednesday, as the number of cases countrywide jumped over 100,000 for the eighth day in a row.
Industrial and financial sectors dragged down the Dow and the S&P 500, with Goldman Sachs and Boeing falling about 2% and 3%, respectively.
The S&P 500 fell 1%, the Dow dropped by 1.08%, and Nasdaq lost 0.65%. Still, the S&P and Dow Jones have gained about 2% this week, driven by vaccine optimism. Equities also increased on expectations that the Congress will be divided, which won’t allow Joe Biden to initiate major changes, such as tax increases that may negatively impact corporate profits.
Speaking about the COVID vaccine, Moderna surged 6.5% after announcing it had sufficient data for a preliminary analysis of its late-stage trial of its vaccine candidate, which also relies on the mRNA technology like the Pfizer one.
On the economic front, US jobless claims dropped last week to the lowest in seven months, though the pace of job recovery still slowed given that fiscal stimulus faded. 709,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, down 48,000 from the previous week's 757,000, which was revised upwards. Analysts expected 730,000 claims.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the economy would be challenged in the next several months by the more aggressive pandemic.
In individual corporate news, Cisco Systems leaped over 8.5% after the network hardware maker reported better-than-expected results in Q3.
Walt Disney surged over 7% after reporting Q4 results that beat analyst predictions. Also, the company revealed a strong demand for its streaming services.
In Asia, stocks are mostly bearish in early trading on Friday, following the selloff in the US and Europe.
Investors are worried that producing and distributing Pfizer’s vaccine is challenging, considering that it has to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius.
By Strategy Desk
