BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) "Futures were crazy. They were up 14-hundred, fifteen hundred points, just for the Dow," said Greg Merkle, Financial Advisor at FSC Securities Corporation. He was talking about pre-market trading, following news from Pfizer and BioNTech.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading over 1,000 points higher, at an all-time high. At its session high, the 30-stock average was up nearly 5.7%, or more than 1,600 points.
Pfizer announced that its vaccine data suggests Covid shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19.
"It's a surprise," said Merkle. "It gives people hope. We weren't quite looking for that at this point. The average flu vaccine if 40%-60% effective," he said.
The timeline remains the same in getting the vaccine out to the public, which is late 1st quarter of 2021. Merkle called it "huge news," adding that people will feel better about taking the vaccine, if it's 90% effective.
Vaccine news is the main reason for the lift in stocks. Merkle said there is also optimism that a stimulus package may come sooner rather than later.
The momentum is across the board, but not all stocks are trending up. Stay at home stocks, such as Peleton and Zoom dropped Monday. Also some smaller bio tech companies that are involved in either vaccine development or an antibody testing are also down.
Winning stocks include The Walt Disney Company, on hopes that people will start visiting theme parks again. Also, Cruise operators, airlines and mall owners were among surging stocks. At one point Monday, Carnival stock was up 36%, but still down more than half for the year.
