Dow Jones, S&P 500 reach record highs after Moderna's vaccine news

(Image credit: KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)

published 16 November 2020

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both rose to record highs on Monday following more great news about a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The Dow climbed 471 points to close at 29,950.44, while the S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent to 3,626.91, CNN and The Associated Press report. The new record highs were reached after Moderna announced that data suggested its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is nearly 95 percent effective, better than experts had been anticipating.

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At the same time, Bloomberg writes that as COVID-19 cases climb in the U.S., "concerns about a sustainable economic recovery persist." But Capital Economics economist Neil Shearing wrote on Monday, per CNN, "Markets are focused on the increasing likelihood of a vaccine breakthrough." And Principal Global Investors chief strategist Seema Shah noted, per The Wall Street Journal, "2020 is a year we won't ever forget and yet somehow equity markets have completely erased it from their memory."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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