S&P flirts with record as tech stocks drive coronavirus recovery
The S&P 500 hit an intra-day record, before closing slightly below that level, as U.S. equity markets rallied on Wednesday.
The broadest measure of stocks rose 1.4 percent to 3380.36 returning to the near-record levels of February. Big tech contributed to the gains as the Nasdaq Composite rose by 2.13%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 289.55 points or 1.05%.
Investors weighed progress in the race for a coronavirus vaccine along with ongoing discussions for the next round of stimulus. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking to FOX Business, urged Democrats to pass the next round.
"My view on negotiations is you agree on the things that you can agree on, half legislation that's good for the American public, and then come back for another bill," Mnuchin told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo.
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Looking at stocks, Tesla's monster 5-for-1 stock split, had investors celebrating. It will be distributed at the close of trading on August 28. Shares of the electric-car maker were up 229 percent this year through Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Moderna Inc. agreed to a deal worth up to $1.5 billion to supply the U.S. government with at least 100 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, which began a Phase 3 study late last month.
Eastman Kodak Co. CEO Jim Continenza said the company has “more work” to do to secure a $765 million government loan to aid its pivot into the pharmaceutical industry. Kodak posted a quarterly loss of 8 cents per share as revenue fell 31 percent from a year ago to $213 million.
Elsewhere, Overstock.com Inc. priced a 2.1 million-share offering at $84.50 per share, 8.15% below Tuesday’s closing level.
Viacom CBS shares were in focus after Chairman Emeritus Sumner Redstone died on Tuesday evening. He was 97.
Looking at commodities, gold added $2.30 to $1,934.90 an ounce while West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed $1.06 cents to $42.67 a barrel.
U.S. Treasurys slid, causing the yield on the 10-year note to climb to 0.669%.
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In Europe, Britain’s FTSE led the gains, trading up 2.04%, despite the UK economy contracting by 20.4% in the three months through June and entering a recession. France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX were higher by 0.9% and 0.86%, respectively.
Asian markets finished mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 1.42%, Japan’s Nikkei rallying 0.41% and China’s Shanghai Composite slipping 0.63%.
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