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Investors have flocked to U.S. equities and shrugged off weak
economic data in recent weeks on signs that a working COVID-19
vaccine would be available before the end of the year.
The race for a vaccine narrowed on Tuesday after the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration raised no new issues about the safety or
efficacy of Pfizer Inc's candidate, while Johnson & Johnson
reported it could obtain late-stage trial results for a
single-dose vaccine earlier than expected.
Both drugmakers' shares gained about 1% in premarket trading.
President-elect Joe Biden has also vowed that his administration
would vaccinate 100 million Americans during his first 100 days
in office, push to reopen schools and strengthen mask mandates.
At 6:48 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 67 points, or 0.22%, S&P
500 e-minis were up 5.25 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100
e-minis were down 9.25 points, or 0.07%.
With valuations now at extremely high levels, some investors
worry that stocks could be more vulnerable to any bad news such
as unexpected setbacks in the roll-out of vaccines or delays in
stimulus.
U.S. lawmakers continued to negotiate on a long-awaited
coronavirus relief package, but provisions on liability
protections for businesses and aid to state and local
governments are causing divisions between Republicans and
Democrats.
The Trump administration proposed a new $916 billion aid package
on Tuesday, after congressional Democrats shot down a suggestion
for a pared-down plan.
Major U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc as well
as industrial bellwethers Boeing Co and 3M Co rose about half a
percent.
Travel stocks including United Airlines Holdings Inc and
American Airlines Group Inc gained 1.3% and 2.7%.
(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta)
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