Vaccine news and big tech drive Monday’s highs
The week began with the Nasdaq making another record close at 10,774, surging 2.58%. Naturally, the FANG stocks fueled the rally. Amazon, for instance, jumped nearly 8%, Tesla soared 9.47%, and Microsoft leapt 4.3% after the cloud giant announced over the weekend a five-year deal to supply Halliburton. Another deal saw Chevron (-2.18%) buy Noble Energy (5.44%) in a US$5-billion all-stock deal.
These headlines competed with advances in COVID-19 drugs. AstraZeneca and Oxford University announced positive results for its vaccine in early clinical trials. In China, CanSino also reported effective results in a human mid-stage trial. July will be a crucial month in vaccine and treatment testing. Surprisingly, AstraZeneca shares actually fell nearly 4% in Monday’s session. Perhaps investors were fretting the continuing high number of COVID-19 cases in the American sunbelt, although the latest numbers show they may be leveling off.
In comparison, the TSX was quiet, gaining 0.46%. Energy and telcos lagged, but tech and materials led. Gold and silver names rallied again, with names such as Fortuna Silver Mines and Silvercrest Metals, both gaining over 11%. Gold itself ticked up modestly to stay above US$1,800/ounce. Shopify climbed 8.46%.
📦 Amazon.com +8%
🚗 Tesla Motors Inc +9.47%
Ⓜ Microsoft +4.3%
🛢 Chevron Texaco -2.18%
🛢 Noble Energy Inc. +5.44%
💉 Astrazeneca P L C -4%
🥈 Fortuna Silver Mines +11%
🥈 SilverCrest Metals Inc +11%
🛍 Shopify Inc. +8.46%
