Stocks surged higher after drugmaker Pfizer said trial data indicated its Covid-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, fueling hopes that the virus could be brought under control and the economy could rebound much faster than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 5 percent as trading opened Monday morning. S&P 500 futures rose by more than 4 percent.
Gains for the Nasdaq Composite, which includes some stocks that had traded much higher on expectations of lockdowns, were much more muted, pushing the tech-heavy index up just 1.85 percent.
Travel and leisure companies soared higher. American Airlines shares rose 23 percent. United Air shares ascended 26.5 percent. Southwest shares rose 23 percent. Shares of Boeing jumped up 14.9 percent.
Shares of movie theater chain AMC rose 54 percent. Cinemark Holdings shares climbed 55 percent. Shares of Disney rose 12.8 percent, most likely on expectations that its theme park and film business stand to benefit. Shares of Six Flags were up nearly 30 percent.
Shares of Pfizer rose 8 percent.
Shares of the parent company of Carnival Cruises sailed up 40 percent. Norwegian Cruise Lines shares are up nearly 29 percent. Royal Caribbean shares were buoyed 31 percent.
Shares of casino operator Wynn rolled up 24 percent. MGM Resorts shares rose around 15 percent. Marriott shares rose 20.4 percent. Hyatt shares rose around 20 percent. The Dow Jones U.S. hotel index rose 13 percent.
Shares of Darden, which owns Olive Garden and several other restuarant chains, rose by 13 percent.
Shares of Vornado Realty Trust, a major commercial property owner, jumped 26 percent. Shares of Simon Property Group rose 22 percent.
Caterpillar shares jumped 8 percent.
European stock markets moved higher. London’s FTSE 100 index rose 5.4 percent. Germany’s Dax climbed 5.5 percent. France’s Cac rose more than 7 percent.
Not all U.S. stocks rose Monday morning. Some of the market’s favorite ‘shelter at home’ companies saw futures indicate big declines. Peleton shares crashed 20 percent. Zoom shares tumbled 16,3 percent. Netflix shares fell by more than 7 percent.
Homebuilder Toll Brothers shares fell 4.5 percent. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF fell 1.3 percent.
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