U.S. stocks rallied to record highs Monday after a report said a COVID-19 vaccine could come before the November 3rd election and President Trump announced a “major breakthrough” in the fight against COVID-19.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 223 points, or 0.8%, in the opening minutes of trading while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were higher by 0.79% and 1.21%, respectively, extending further into record territory.
Jonathan Garber for FOXBusiness:
The early gains came after a Financial Times report said AstraZeneca plc’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine is being considered by Trump for fast-track designation in an effort to get an immunization to market ahead of the November election. The report added to investor enthusiasm that emerged on Sunday evening after Trump announced an emergency authorization to use convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients.
“This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection,” Trump said just over 24 hours before the start of the Republican National Convention.
Elsewhere on the vaccine front, Moderna Inc. announced enrollment for its Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial, expected to begin in September, crossed the 40% level.
Meanwhile, Apple Inc. surged to record highs as investors raced to beat Monday’s deadline to get in on the 4-for-1 split, which will take place at the close of business on Friday.
MacDailyNews Take: With this morning’s rally, Apple is worth some $2.198 trillion, adding $200 billion, or two AMDs worth of value in mere days. As per Apple’s 4-for-1 split, each Apple shareholder of record at the close of business on August 24, 2020 will receive three additional shares for every share held on the record date, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020.