By Sruthi Shankar and Shivani Kumaresan
(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as fresh signs of a COVID-19 vaccine fueled bets of faster economic revival next year, while Boeing surged after it won U.S. approval to resume flights of its 737 MAX jet.
The planemaker’s shares jumped about 6% in early trading after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson signed an order to allow the best-selling plane to resume flights following two fatal crashes that led to Boeing’s biggest crisis in decades.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc said it would apply for emergency U.S. authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine within days and disclosed final results from a late-stage trial that showed it was 95% effective. The company’s shares rose 3%.
The announcement comes after Moderna Inc on Monday released preliminary data for its COVID-19 vaccine, showing similar effectiveness.
At 07:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis gained 0.45%, S&P 500 E-minis rose 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 0.1%.
“Whilst it doesn’t mean much for today (unlike last Monday), it does underscore the fact that we are heading into a much brighter 2021 and whilst temporary lockdowns need to be endured, the back-to-normal trade is still ‘on’,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, referring to the muted market reaction to Pfizer’s update.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow retreated from all-time highs on Tuesday as glum U.S. retail sales data, as well as the specter of fresh restrictions dampened demand for risky assets.
The number of reported global daily deaths from the coronavirus stood at its highest ever on Tuesday, as the United States entered winter.
Among other stocks, Target Corp rose 2.4% after the retailer beat expectations for quarterly profit and sales, helped by its quick delivery services.
Beyond Meat Inc gained 1.3% after the faux meat maker launched plant-based minced pork in China.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Joice Alves in London; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
