Dow record close | Senate stimulus talks stall | Oxford vaccine approved in U.K.

WED, DEC 30, 2020

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, DEC 30, 2020 • 04:21 ET

DJIA		30409.56
		+0.24%	+73.89

S&P 500		3732.04
		+0.13%	+5.00

NASDAQ		12870.00
		+0.15%	+19.78

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	133.72	-1.15	-0.85%
INTC	48.75	-0.64	-1.30%
MSFT	221.68	-2.47	-1.10%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	133.72	-1.15	-0.85%
GE	10.71	+0.15	+1.42%
AAL	16.15	+0.29	+1.83%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	133.72	-1.15	-0.85%
TSLA	694.78	+28.79	+4.32%
INTC	48.75	-0.64	-1.30%

EDITOR'S NOTE

The authorization of yet another coronavirus vaccine helped the broader market Wednesday regain its slight losses from the previous session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73 points, or 0.2%, to post a fresh record closing high. The S&P 500 advanced 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2%.

Earlier Wednesday, a British regulator cleared a Covid vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for emergency use. This vaccine is cheaper to produce and does not require ultra-cold storage like Pfizer's and Moderna's.

Wall Street also weighed the prospects of greater coronavirus relief as lawmakers continued to disagree over direct payments to Americans.

The Senate currently has no plans to vote on a bill that would boost checks to $2,000 from $600. That measure was passed by the House late Monday. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced another bill that ties the increased payments to demands from President Donald Trump on tech and the election.

"While we're happy with the stimulus that we have thus far, it's likely that we're going to need additional stimulus because the rising Covid cases will likely lead to more regional lockdowns after the holidays," said Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. "If that's the case, and the economic data starts to disappoint, we could see" stay-at-home names outperform again in 2021.

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