By Jesse Cohen
Investing.com - News on progress in developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine has had a powerful influence on volatile market sentiment this week.
With more than 100 vaccines currently in various stages of development worldwide and eight in clinical trials according to the World Health Organization, a slew of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are racing to deliver a vaccine for COVID-19, which has infected more than 5 million people worldwide.
Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) raised hopes for a vaccine at the start of the week when it reported that all 45 patients enrolled in the phase one trials developed binding antibodies after two doses. In addition, eight patients in the trial produced neutralizing antibodies, the key to immunizing against the virus.
That helped lift stocks on Wall Street to their best day in over a month on Monday.
The U.S. stock market then moved sharply lower in the final hour of Tuesday's session after a report from medical news website STAT said early data from Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine was insufficient.
Despite the volatility, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are all up around 4% so far this week heading into Thursday.
The S&P (NYSE:SPY) 500 currently stands at a more than two-month high, while the Nasdaq was trading at its highest level in three months. The tech-heavy index is up 4.5% for 2020 and is less than 5% from its February record high.
Still, there is concern that stocks may have gotten ahead of themselves, with the S&P up nearly 33% from its March 23 closing low, as investors monitor progress in developing a potential coronavirus vaccine and economic recovery hopes.
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-- Reuters contributed to this report