Wall Street closes at record on vaccine hopes

The S&P added 1.4 per cent to hit its first record close since early September while the Dow Jones also jumped.

The S&P added 1.4 per cent to hit its first record close since early September while the Dow Jones also jumped. Picture: AFP

Key US stock benchmark the S&P 500 rose to a record Friday as optimism over a Covid-19 vaccine led investors to pile into previously underperforming sectors like energy and banks.

In a striking reversal, investors have pulled away from the highflying technology stocks that had powered the market higher since March, and shifted into economically sensitive stocks seen as likely to benefit from a post-pandemic recovery.

The S&P added 1.4 per cent, or 48.14 points, to 3585.15, its first record close since early September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 400 points, or 1.4 per cent. The blue-chip index rallied 4.1 per cent this week, its second straight week of gains.

The S&P 500 gained 2.2 per cent for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1 per cent Friday, recovering some ground from recent days, but it still lagged behind the other benchmarks with a 0.6 per cent loss.

The last week when the Dow outperformed the Nasdaq by such a wide margin was 2002, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Among the week’s biggest losers were companies that had benefited from the stay-at-home trade – businesses that can prosper when lockdown measures force people to spend more of their work and leisure time at home. Amazon.com and Facebook have both fallen more than 5 per cent this week, while videoconferencing firm Zoom Video Communications slumped 19 per cent.

Winners included Chevron, which is up 17 per cent for the week, and pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, up 14 per cent.

Smaller stocks, which were hammered by the coronavirus sell-off in March, roared back. The Russell 2000 is up 14 per cent so far in November, on pace for its best-ever first 10 trading days to a month.

“This is an environment where the recovery trade, which is favourable to value, really still has legs,” said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. “The market is starting to focus on 2021, and giving credit to the cyclical recovery.”

The catalyst for the shift was news on Monday that a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and partner BioNTech was more than 90 per cent effective, according to early data. That set off a wave of euphoria, with the Dow surging more than 800 points for the day.

The vaccine news came as markets were generally welcoming the outcome of the US election, in which former Vice President Joe Biden beat President Trump, even as it appeared the Senate would remain under Republican control.

Investors often favour divided government, because it reduces the chance of major regulatory changes that can unsettle markets.

Phillip Toews, chief executive of Toews Asset Management, said that after the Pfizer-BioNTech news, his firm bought stocks and exited defensive positions in cash and bonds, as it appeared that the world could be turning the corner on the pandemic.

“Now we’re fully bullish across our equities and high-yield bonds platforms,” Mr Toews said.

Still, many investors remain cautious about the coming winter because of elevated coronavirus infection levels. The US on Thursday for the first time reported more than 150,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day, driven by record infection counts in more than a dozen states.

“Over the next few weeks, the likelihood is we’re going to see greater volatility. You have a number of systemic risks that could occur,” said Justin Onuekwusi, head of retail multi-asset funds at Legal & General Investment Management. “You’ve got vaccine news, you’ve got economic growth being impacted by lockdowns, Brexit news, US election news – all of it’s quite volatile.”

All 11 sectors of the S&P were in positive territory on Friday, with energy, industrial and financial stocks among the best-performing sectors.

Tech stocks regained some lost ground, led by Cisco Systems. Shares of the network-equipment firm climbed 7.1 per cent after its earnings beat Wall Street projections.

Palantir Technologies stock jumped 8.4 per cent after the data-analysis company raised its revenue outlook late Thursday and posted better-than-expected sales in its first quarterly report since going public in September.

Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 ended the day roughly flat. Major Asian equity benchmarks were mostly lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9 per cent.

Some Chinese stocks fell sharply after President Trump on Thursday signed an order barring Americans from investing in companies deemed to help China’s military, intelligence and security services.

China’s three main telecoms operators were among the hardest hit, with shares of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom retreating over 5 per cent in Hong Kong trading.

In bond markets, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes ticked up to 0.893 per cent, from 0.885 per cent on Thursday.

-Dow Jones Newswires