US Stock Market Hits Record High After Moderna's Announcement Fuels Hopes Of Recovering From Pandemic

The US stock markets recorded a jump after pharma company Moderna announced that its Covid-19 vaccine effective in preventing the infection.

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New Delhi: The American stock market recorded a jump after US pharma giant Moderna announced that its Covid-19 vaccine candidate was 94 percent effective at preventing the disease fuelling hopes of recovery from the pandemic. According to a report by CNN, both Dow and the S&P 500 reached record highs with Dow (INDU) finishing up 1.6%, or 471 points. It was just 50 points below the 30,000 mark and the report says that it is a level that the Index had not reached in its history. While S&P 500 (SPX) closed up 1.2%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) ended 0.8% higher. Interim data from the US firm Moderna suggests its vaccine is highly effective in preventing people from getting ill and also works across all age groups, including the elderly. Recently Moderna released early results from a clinical trial with more than 30,000 participants soon after American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced that their vaccine was 90 percent effective. Both frontrunners are based on new technology that uses synthetic versions of molecules called "messenger RNA" to hack into human cells, and effectively turn them into vaccine-making factories. "This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease," said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel. Moderna said its available safety data does not indicate any significant safety concerns. The vaccine was generally safe and well-tolerated, and the majority of adverse events were mild or moderate in severity, it said. WATCH HERE