Several things helped lift the market, including stronger-than-expected reports on the economy and on corporate profits from Goldman Sachs and others.
NEW YORK — Markets worldwide rallied on rising hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, and the S&P 500 climbed back to where it was a few days after it set its record early this year.
Investors see a vaccine as the best way for the economy and human life to get back to normal, and researchers said late Tuesday that one developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna revved up people’s immune systems in early testing, as hoped. The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to pull within 4.7 percent of its all-time high set in February.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 227.51 points, or 0.9 percent, to 26,870.10, and the Nasdaq composite gained 61.91, or 0.6 percent, to 10,550.49. During the morning, the S&P 500 touched its highest level since Feb. 25, and it ended the day at 3,226.56, up 29.04.
Several things helped lift the market, including stronger-than-expected reports on the economy and on corporate profits from Goldman Sachs and others. But the vaccine hopes were at the center of the rise, which meant the market’s leaderboard was dominated by companies that would benefit most from a return to normal life. They included cruise-ship operators, airlines, retailers and hotel chains.
Stocks of smaller companies also leaped much more than the rest of the market, an indication of rising expectations for the economy. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped 3.5 percent, a turnaround from earlier months when big, tech-oriented companies were carrying the market.
“Investors are gaining more confidence of the longer-term direction of the market,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “It’s not just the behemoth tech stocks that are likely to lead share prices higher, but that mid- and small-cap stocks will also benefit, not only from an economic recovery, but also from very low interest rates.”
Winners of the stay-at-home economy created by quarantines and lockdowns, meanwhile, lagged behind. Clorox, Netflix and Amazon all fell.
Wednesday’s lift for markets, though, came only after another day of choppy trading.
