Gold prices edge higher on raised Fed rate cut hopes
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* Early positive results for Pfizer, BioNTech vaccine
candidate
* U.S. marks record single-day spike in virus cases
* FedEx jumps on quarterly profit, revenue beat
* Indexes: Dow 0.44%, S&P 0.54%, Nasdaq 0.40%
(Updates to open)
By Pawel Goraj and Devik Jain
July 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday as
rising hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine reversed premarket losses,
overshadowing fears of another round of lockdowns following a
record surge in coronavirus cases in the United States.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc PFE.N and
German biotech firm BioNTech BNTX.O showed promise and was
found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.
Pfizer's PFE.N shares jumped 4.1% on the news, while
BioNTech gained 3%, helping improve the mood on Wall Street
after the United States registered 47,000 new coronavirus cases
on Tuesday, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the
pandemic. Updates on the progress in various COVID-19 vaccine programs
are being closely watched by investors, and have been partly
responsible for Wall Street's recent rally. The S&P 500 .SPX
closed its best quarter since 1998 on Tuesday.
Investors have also focused on signs of an economic recovery
with the easing of coronavirus-induced lockdowns. Data on
Wednesday showed that a slump in global manufacturing was easing
in June, with U.S. figures hitting their highest level in more
than a year. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of
national factory activity jumped to a reading of 52.6 last month
from 43.1 in May, ending three straight months of contraction.
On Thursday, all eyes will be on the Labor Department's
nonfarm payrolls report.
At 10:17 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 113.35 points, or 0.44%, at 25,926.23, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 16.78 points, or 0.54%, at 3,117.07. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 40.39 points, or 0.40%, at 10,099.15.
Battered cruise line operators Norwegian Cruise Line
Holdings Inc NCLH.N , Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N and
Carnival Corp CCL.N rose between 3.6% and 6%.
Macy's Inc M.N edged up 1.7% after it reported a
staggering $3.58 billion quarterly loss, led by a $3 billion
impairment charge due to COVID-19 induced-store shutdowns.
FedEx Corp jumped 16.0% after posting better-than-expected
quarterly profit and revenue, helped by a surge in
pandemic-fueled home deliveries. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.76-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.39-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 7 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 6 new lows.