Dow gains 210 points as AstraZeneca results boost COVID-19 vaccine optimism

• US stocks rose on Monday after AstraZeneca said its COVID-19 vaccine candidate demonstrated an average efficacy rate of 70%.
• It is the third COVID-19 vaccine said to have surpassed the Food and Drug Administration's requirement of 50% effectiveness.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks gained on Monday as investor optimism about the development of a successful COVID-19 vaccine remained elevated.

AstraZeneca said on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, demonstrated an average efficacy rate of 70%. It said that while one dosing regimen was found to have an efficacy rate of 90%, another demonstrated an efficacy rate of 62%.

This is the third COVID-19 vaccine — joining the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna — said to have surpassed the Food and Drug Administration's approval threshold of at least 50% efficacy.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Monday:

• S&P 500: 3,580.82, up 0.7%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 29,473.41, up 0.7% (210 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 11,929.04, up 0.6%

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Americans could begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines as early as December 11, an advisor to the White House's Operation Warp Speed initiative said, adding that about 70% of the population could be immunized by the summer.

Oil prices staged a rebound on Monday, hitting their highest levels since early September. The positive vaccine news suggested demand for oil could return sooner rather than later.

Bitcoin's strong rally to above $18,000 helped spur a surge in other cryptocurrency assets like ether and Ripple over the weekend.

Oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped as much as 2.9%, to $43.36 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, gained 2.5%, to $46.08 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold declined as much as 0.5%, to $1,862.64 per ounce.

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