Wall Street’s main stock indexes were mixed on Tuesday as the rally sparked by positive trial results from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine ebbs and the prospect of a “dark winter” weighs on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 96 points or 0.33 percent at the open of trading on Wall Street.
The S 500 – a gauge for the health of US retirement and college savings reports – opened down 0.20 percent. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index extended its losses from Monday, falling 0.78 percent at the open.
The Dow and S hit new records during Monday’s session after Pfizer said late-stage trial data for the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Germany’s BioNTech showed it to be more than 90 percent effective.
Investors moved out of big tech and other shares that have benefitted most from shifting consumer and work habits during the pandemic and into beaten-up sectors like travel and leisure that have been the hardest hit this year.
While that shift is still under way on Tuesday, momentum is proving to be highly fickle as Americans from coast-to-coast prepare themselves for the flu and cold-heavy winter months. Millions of unemployed workers are struggling as the jobs recovery stalls and Washington’s stimulus deadlock persists.
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday described the Pfizer development as “positive news” while urging Americans to remain vigilant and keep wearing masks.
“It’s clear that this vaccine, even if approved, will not be widely available for many months yet to come,” Biden said during a news conference on Monday. “We’re still facing a very dark winter.”
Shares of Pfizer were trading up 2.24 percent within minutes of the opening bell in New York.
The prospect of a vaccine approval on the horizon saw investors sell stay-at-home tech stocks on Monday – and the trend is continuing on Tuesday.
Among stocks making headlines:
Shares of Amazon were down 1.6 percent after European watchdogs slapped the tech titan with antitrust charges. The European Union is accusing Amazon of using its size and power to stifle the growth of smaller merchants that sell on its platform.
Shares of Beyond Meat Inc plummeted more than 22 percent on Tuesday after it reported a surprise slowdown in sales of its plant-based burger patties and sausages.
The faux meat maker’s shares surged nearly 90 percent over the last year as companies rushed to join the health bandwagon and Americans stocked up on food during the pandemic’s peak. But COVID-19 restrictions also cut into sales at restaurants and fast-food chains.
