The Dow closed just shy of 25,000 on Tuesday, for a time crossing what analysts have identified as an important psychological barrier to economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
When the closing bell sounded on Tuesday, the Dow was up by 529.95 points, a 2.17% increase to finish at 24,995.11. The Nasdaq Composite closed 15.63 points higher, finishing at 9,340.22, and the S&P 500 closed up 36.32 points, finishing at 2991.77.
On Tuesday morning, vaccine maker Novavax announced it had begun phase 1 clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine by giving 130 healthy adult volunteers in Australia two doses of the drug, called NVX-CoV2373. Other firms, including Pfizer and Moderna, are also racing to develop a vaccine.
"It looks like we have several shots on goal,” Hani Redha, a multiasset portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments, told the Wall Street Journal, adding that “any kind of glimmer of hope about any trial going well or any trial starting is going to be good.”
Over the weekend, several restrictions to regular economic activity put into place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 began to be lifted in Italy, Spain, and the United States, and the United Kingdom announced future plans for how such a reopening work unfold. The WSJ noted that bookings for hotels and airline flights were increasing.
