US market close: S&P closes high for third straight day
By Joseph Toppe
21:43, 8 December 2021
The major US gauges rebounded during the second half of Wednesday as the S&P closed with a win for the third day in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 34.6 points, or 0.1%, to reach 35,754.09, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.3% to 4,701.21, settling just 0.9% from its record, while the Nasdaq Composite improved 0.6% to 15,786.99.
Halfway through the session, the Dow was down near 85 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 was trading around 0.08% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2% in the green.
Vaccine update
On Wednesday, both BioNtech and Pfizer issued a statement showing preliminary laboratory studies demonstrating that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine will neutralise the Omicron variant.
In the release, Pfizer chair and CEO Albert Bourla said, “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”
Shares for Pfizer and BioNtech traded lower on Wednesday.
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Winners and losers: Travel stocks hold mid-day gains
Shares of Delta Air Lines are up nearly 0.24%, American Airlines shares are around 3.6% higher, while shares of United Airlines are over 1% in the green and Southwest Airlines is 0.13% better
Shares for China Evergrande Group sank 5.5%, representing their lowest level since the property company’s initial public offering in 2009.
In other tech stocks, shares for Apple are up 2% after UBS maintained its buy rating on the stock despite recent concerns about demand for the iPhone 13, while shares for Meta Platforms jumped over 2% after the company gave its employees the option to delay their return to the office.
Oil: Crude prices reach highest peak in half month
On Wednesday, US oil futures marked their highest settlement in two weeks.
West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery jumped 31 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $72.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, marking the highest front-month finish since 24 November.
February Brent crude, the global benchmark, tacked on 38 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $75.82 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after rising 3.2% a day ago. The contract marked a fifth straight session gain, at the highest finish since 25 November.
Gold: Precious metal keeps gain, falls below daily best
Gold futures went slightly higher on Wednesday but fell below finished below their session high.
The most-active February gold contract added 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,785.50 an ounce.
Forex: Canadian dollar gains ground on US buck
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose to 1.506% Wednesday from 1.479% Tuesday.
On Wednesday, one US dollar equals 0.92 of the Swiss franc, 0.88 of the euro, and 1.26 of the Canadian dollar.
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