Dow soars 450 points to new record as Moderna's vaccine update boosts investor optimism

• US equities soared on Monday after $4 lifted hopes for a complete economic recovery.
• Moderna announced Monday that its experimental coronavirus vaccine was 94.5% effective at preventing COVID-19 in trial patients. Moderna plans to apply for emergency use authorization later this month.
• The Dow Jones industrial average hit an intraday record, while the S&P 500 traded less than 1% from its own all-time high.
• The news specifically lifted so-called reopening stocks including airlines, hotels, and cruises.
• Stay-at-home plays such as $4 and $4 tumbled.
• Oil prices surged as investors bet on vaccine distribution to revive market demand. $4 gained as much as 4.9%, to $42.09 per barrel.
• $4.

US stocks rallied on Monday after $4 announced its coronavirus vaccine candidate $4. The Dow Jones industrial average hit an intraday record, while the S&P 500 traded less than 1% from its own all-time high.

The biotech company said Monday morning that its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective at preventing COVID-19 in trial patients. An independent group of experts found signs of effectiveness after reviewing data from an ongoing 30,000-person trial, Moderna said. The company plans to apply for emergency use authorization later this month.

The encouraging news comes one week after $4 and $4 revealed similarly positive results from their own vaccine trial. While both experimental drugs still require regulatory approval to be distributed, their effectiveness suggests the virus could be reliably contained sooner than expected.

Here's where US indexes stood at 11:35 a.m. ET on Monday:

• $4: 3,624.57, up 1.1%
• $4: 29,931.67, up 1.5% (452 points)
• $4: 11,905.31, up 0.6%

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The so-called $4 as Moderna's update lifted investor optimism. Airlines including $4, $4, and $4 gained, as did cruise lines. Hotel stocks also jumped as investors bet on near-term vaccine distribution to revive the beleaguered sector.

Conversely, $4 as investors positioned for a full recovery. $4, $4, and $4, among others, tumbled. Falling tech giants in particular led the Nasdaq composite to underperform peer indexes.

"The global population couldn't have asked for more from the Moderna vaccine," Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, said. "Visibility towards a return to normality is increasing, and this should provide more fuel to the reflation rally, with small caps, value, and cyclicals clear beneficiaries."

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Moderna's update offset concerns about still-rising COVID-19 cases throughout the US. The country reported more than 139,000 new cases on Sunday along with nearly 69,000 new hospitalizations, according to $4. Multiple cities have reinstated economic restrictions to hinder the virus's spread. With the pace of economic recovery already slowing, prolonged lockdowns risk freezing the nation's rebound.

Monday's strong open comes after Pfizer's own vaccine announcement spurred a massive rotation to value stocks throughout last week. Major indexes notched $4 as investors bet on near-term vaccine distribution.

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Spot $4 fell slightly after hitting an intraday low of $1,865.30 per ounce as investors rotated out of safe-haven assets. The US dollar declined against most major currency peers and Treasury yields climbed.

$4 hovered around $16,400 as its recent rally cooled. The world's most popular cryptocurrency $4 on Thursday as its fall rally pushed forward.

Oil prices gained on hopes for a vaccine to revive travel activity and overall consumption. $4 surged as much as 4.9%, to $42.09 per barrel. $4, oil's international standard, rose 4.4%, to $44.67 per barrel, at intraday highs.

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