Stocks had a winning day in the second to last trading session of 2020 after another COVID-19 vaccine won approval, but in the U.K. and not yet the U.S.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the advance indicators report revealed a November widening in the goods trade deficit to a record $84.8B in November, which was larger than expected. The Chicago PMI bounced 1.3 points to 59.5 in December, which was better than forecast. An index of pending home sales dropped 2.6% to 125.7 in November, which was below expectations.
TOP NEWS: AstraZeneca (AZN) announced that its COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency supply in the U.K. AstraZeneca, which noted that it is conducting a large trial in the U.S. and globally, said the company aims to supply millions of doses in the first quarter as part of an agreement with the U.K. government to supply up to 100M doses in total. Afterward, AlphaValue analyst Amandeep Goyal upgraded the stock to Add from Reduce, arguing that the approval means "sentiment around Astra's share price should improve finally."
Tesla (TSLA), one of the biggest winners of 2020, rose to a new record high as a number of analysts predicted the company will beat expectations and achieve its target of 500,000 deliveries in 2020 when the electric carmaker releases its fourth quarter delivery numbers.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was DermTech (DMTK), which gained 27.4% after the company announced that Geisinger Health System has issued a positive medical benefit policy for its Commercial and Medicare Business Segment for the DermTech Pigmented Lesion Assay.
Among the notable losers was Osmotica Pharmaceuticals (OSMT), which fell 20% after the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter regarding the company's New Drug Application seeking approval for arbaclofen extended release tablets to treat spasticity resulting from multiple sclerosis. Also lower was MicroVision (MVIS), which slid over 2% after the company announced it entered into a $13M at-the-market equity offering agreement with Craig-Hallum Capital Group.
INDEXES: The Dow added 73.89, or 0.24%, to 30,409.56, the Nasdaq gained 19.78, or 0.15%, to 12,870.00, and the S&P 500 advanced 5.00, or 0.13%, to 3,732.04.
AstraZeneca
+0.26 (+0.52%)
Tesla
+28.67 (+4.30%)
Osmotica Pharmaceuticals
-1.07 (-20.23%)
MicroVision
-0.15 (-2.37%)
DermTech
+7.53 (+26.77%)