On Friday, U.S. stocks moved higher, propelled by better-than-expected earnings and COVID-19 vaccine optimism with investors eyes trained on pharmaceuticals like Pfizer, BioNTech, Eli Lilly, Regeneron, and Moderna.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 100 points or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was higher by 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
Disney fueling some of the gains in the early session after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, even with the negative impact of the pandemic.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, speaking on FOX Business, said the distribution network is ready to go once a vaccine arrives.
“Pfizer will be doing its own direct distribution to pharmacies that we ask them to send to based on the instructions of our nation’s governors under their distribution plan. So the vaccine will arrive at these pharmacies, white-glove service and the pharmacies will then execute distribution plans to the targeted populations that the governors have selected” he explained.
In other reports, the University of Michigan’s preliminary index of consumer sentiment for November came in at 77 slightly below the expected 82.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s always nice to see U.S. stocks rally, even if Apple is currently down fractionally (-0.25%) on the day.