The daily business briefing: November 5, 2020

1. Markets surge as investors predict Washington gridlock

U.S. stocks soared on Wednesday as investors apparently expected Tuesday's mixed elections to result in the kind of gridlock in Washington that often lifts markets by making major policy changes impossible. The presidential election remained too close to call, but Democrats appeared to have retained control of the House with Republicans nearly certain to hold onto a narrow Senate majority. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 368 points or 1.3 percent, down from a session-high gain of more than 800 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed up by 2.2 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. The S&P 500 has now risen three straight days, and won back all of its 5.6 percent loss last week. Futures rose further early Thursday.

USA Today CNBC

2. AstraZeneca says late-trial vaccine data due by late 2020

AstraZeneca said Thursday that it expected to release late-stage trial results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which it is developing with the University of Oxford, "later this year." Positive results could lead to a rollout of the vaccine soon after the release of the data, as long as regulators sign off on the vaccine. AstraZeneca's vaccine, called AZD1222, is considered a frontrunner in the race to produce the first drug to help prevent coronavirus infections. European regulators last month made the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine candidate the first to begin a fast-tracked review process. The move came after weeks of uncertainty over a pause in trials in the U.S. due to a participant's unexplained illness. The trials resumed after the Food and Drug Administration found no evidence the vaccine caused the illness.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. Facebook, Twitter flag Trump election posts as misleading

Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday flagged posts by President Trump as potentially misleading after he prematurely claimed to have won Tuesday's election. Trump also baselessly claimed there had been fraud benefiting Democrats. Facebook labeled posts with a video of Trump's post-election comments with a warning saying that no winner had been determined, adding: "Final results may be different from initial vote counts, as ballot counting will continue for days or weeks. Source: Bipartisan Policy Center." Facebook also displayed a post in its news feed saying, "The winner of the 2020 U.S. President Election has not been projected yet." Twitter flagged a Trump tweet on election results with a warning that "some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process," and it posted the same warning on a Trump tweet accusing Democrats of trying to "steal" the election.

USA Today

4. Italy, England impose new lockdowns as pandemic surges in Europe

Italy joined England in imposing new lockdowns to fight new waves of coronavirus infections. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the country's most drastic measures since a national lockdown in March. Starting Friday, the new restrictions will affect much of Italy, including northern regions that are main drivers of the country's economy. "The situation is particularly critical," Conte said at a news conference. England will impose its second lockdown starting Thursday. The two nations are among several using new restrictions to curb surging infections across Europe. Poland is shutting schools and stores, Lithuania is imposing a full lockdown, and France is extending a state of emergency until February.

The New York Times

5. Nintendo 1st-half profit triples as Switch sales surge

Japanese videogame maker Nintendo said Thursday that its profit more than tripled in the first half of the year as sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic. The company said net profit narrowly surpassed $2 billion. With customers around the world forced to spend more time at home to avoid the risk of infection, Nintendo sold 6.9 million Switch consoles during the last quarter, up from 4.8 million sold in the same period last year. The surge lifted lifetime Switch sales to 68.3 million. The console is now closing in on Nintendo's 3DS and 2DS family, which have 75.9 million lifetime sales.

MarketWatch Engadget