Hopes for a vaccine gave Wall Street a boost on Wednesday.

The Dow rallied for the fourth straight day – moving up by more than 200 points. The S&P 500 gained 29 points. The Nasdaq was up 61.

Moderna sparked the optimism after it said a small-scale study showed its experimental drug produced high levels of COVID-19-killing antibodies.

The stock rallied to an all-time high. But Summit Place Financial Advisors' Liz Miller says buying potential vaccine-producing stocks is risky.

"Vaccine hopes are really difficult and I would really say any drug in Phase 3 trials. Anyone who has followed the pharmaceuticals industry and biotech industries for years know that we see these stocks move very strongly on hopes and expectations and you still see - even in this case - vaccines but any compound that makes even it to Phase 3 trials, the vast majority of them will still fail."

Travel-related stocks were buoyed by vaccine hopes as well as a legal win for cruise ship operators. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by cruise ship passengers who claimed they suffered emotional distress due to fear of being exposed to COVID-19. Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean rose roughly 21 percent. Carnival shares rallied 16 percent.

It was a blockbuster quarter for Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street bank far exceeded analysts profit forecasts. The upside surprise came from the company's trading and investment banking business. Shares of Goldman finished higher.

Economic data added to the upbeat tone. U.S. factory output rose at its fastest pace in more than 74 years as auto factories got busier. A separate survey from the Federal Reserve showed a widespread pick-up in economic activity through early July.