Constellation Energy and Vistra stock surge after PJM capacity auction results
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* Boeing jumps on Ryanair's 737 MAX jet orders
* Jobless claims fall after rising for two straight weeks
* Goldman Sachs raises Tesla to "buy"
(Updates with close)
By Noel Randewich
Dec 3 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 .SPX ended lower on Thursday
after a report that Pfizer Inc PFE.N had slashed the target
for the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccine.
The widely followed U.S. stock benchmark fell from record
highs late in the session after the Wall Street Journal reported
that Pfizer faced supply chain obstacles related to the vaccine,
sending its stock down. Boeing Co BA.N jumped after budget airline Ryanair RYA.I
ordered 75 additional 737 MAX jets with a list price of $9
billion, throwing a commercial lifeline to the embattled U.S.
planemaker. Tesla Inc surged TSLA.O after Goldman Sachs upgraded the
stock to "buy" in the run-up to the electric car maker's
addition to the S&P 500. Tesla was Wall Street's most traded stock by value, with
over $22 billion worth of shares exchanged, according to
Refinitiv data, more than double Boeing, in second place.
First-time U.S. claims for jobless benefits fell last week,
but remained extraordinarily high at 712,000, while a separate
survey showed U.S. services industry activity slowed to a
six-month low in November. "I don't think we will see those numbers start to get back
to normal until we start to see a rollout of a vaccine," said
Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ. "The market is
discounting that and saying we are looking forward to the first
or second quarter and a rollout of the vaccine to the general
population."
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cited some
positive movement in congressional efforts to reach a compromise
on a new coronavirus aid bill but gave no hints on when such a
deal could be struck. Progress in developing a working COVID-19 vaccine before the
end of the year has driven Wall Street's main indexes to record
levels in recent days. Despite the economic destruction caused
by the pandemic, the S&P 500 has gained about 14% in 2020.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
86.71 points, or 0.29%, to 29,970.5, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
2.24 points, or 0.06%, to 3,666.77 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 27.82 points, or 0.23%, to 12,377.18.