Dow reaches 30,000 as equity euphoria heightens
A combination of positive vaccine news, political certainty regarding the next President, and positive data coming from the United States edged equities to all-time highs.
The Dow Jones is sitting just above that coveted 30,000 level, which makes it up year to date by 4%. The S&P 500 is up around 11.6% for the year, with the NASDAQ up an impressive 36%.
Equity markets aren’t the only markets benefiting from positive sentiment. Oil prices have reached an eight-month high, with Crude and Brent touching $46 and $48 a barrel, respectively.
Vaccine woes pushing markets higher
One of the main factors that help push equities higher was the consistent positive vaccine news in the past couple of weeks. AstraZeneca yesterday stated that its Coronavirus vaccine’s large stage trials were “highly effective” in preventing the Coronavirus. Professor Andrew Pollard, the Chief Investigator for the AstraZeneca trial, stated that “[the results] show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly that one of our dosing regimes may be around 90% effective.” This is after Pfizer and Moderna reporting vaccines that have 95% efficacy.
Political stability also pushing markets higher
Furthermore, there are signs that Trump is starting to accept his defeat for a second term. Markets have interpreted this as a soothing in political volatility. President Donald Trump has stated that it is “in the best interest of the country” to begin the transition to Joe Biden’s future government and instructed officials to “do what needs to be done.” However, Trump has still not conceded. President-Elect Joe Biden has started to assemble his government, with his latest pick, Janet Yellen, for Treasury Secretary.
Positive PMI’s pushing markets higher
Lastly, Manufacturing and Services PMI’s were better than expected at 56.7 and 57.7 with a market expectation of 53 and 55.3, respectively.
Investors and Traders will be looking forward to the FOMC minutes for guidance on the Federal Reserve’s opinion for the future of the American economy.
