Stocks Rise With Nasdaq at Record on Vaccine Hope: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose as positive vaccine developments and better-than-expected manufacturing data tempered concern over a jump in coronavirus cases. Treasuries and the dollar fell.

The S&P 500 rose for a third day while the Nasdaq Composite jumped to a record as an early trial of an experimental shot from Pfizer Inc. and BioNtech SE showed it’s safe and prompted patients to produce antibodies. Earlier Wednesday, equities came off session highs after California and Arizona reported their biggest daily virus case increases and Houston’s intensive-care units exceeded full capacity. FedEx Corp. soared on a surprise profit, while Boeing Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Traders also monitored minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting that revealed various participants viewed the economy needing support “for some time.” Fed officials showed no readiness at their June meeting to commit to yield-curve control, but did have an eagerness to provide more guidance in coming months on the future path of interest rates and asset purchases. A closely watched measure of manufacturing jumped in June to the highest in more than a year.

“There’s this inherent tension between health of the economy and health of the population,” said David Lebovitz, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “It’s going to be the way to think about what drives markets over the next couple of weeks or months.”

The U.S. is preparing to roll out long-delayed sanctions to punish senior Chinese officials over human-rights abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang, two people familiar with the matter said. Relations between Washington and Beijing have soured badly in the months since the “phase one” trade deal was signed, while the coronavirus pandemic made many of its elements moot.

Here are some key events coming up:

• The monthly U.S. jobs report will be released on Thursday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%.
• The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1%.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
• The euro increased 0.2% to $1.1255.
• The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 107.46 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points to 0.68%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield climbed six basis points to -0.40%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.211%.

Commodities

• The Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 0.3%.
• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $39.71 a barrel.
• Gold dipped 1.1% to $1,780.70 an ounce.

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