Vaccine and Election Drives Market to All Time High

By Brian Hilyard
Money and Investing Writer

The markets hate uncertainty, and now that the election is behind us investors have a clearer picture of what the future will look like. We are still waiting to see who will control the US Senate, and we have to wait until January for Georgia to hold two run-off elections.

The S&P 500 closed at an All-Time-High Friday, and all credit goes to, vaccine news, getting past the election, and some great earnings drove the equity markets this past week.

First, Pfizer announced that a COVID-19 vaccine they are developing appeared to be 90% effective in preventing infections.

Indexes rose sharply on the news, and stocks that were hurt most by the pandemic saw the biggest jumps: Disney, financials, energy, and leisure.

The likes of Netflix, Zoom, and Peloton saw double-digit dips as everything from the work-from-home regime was challenged. The vaccine is not a single dose and is still needs to complete its second dose test.

While it’s great progress, remember that a single unexplained illness, or even a symptom, could halt the entire trial. Cautiously optimistic is how I’d describe how we should treat this news.

The markets hate uncertainty, and now that the election is behind us, investors have a clearer picture of what the future will look like. We are still waiting to see who will control the US Senate, and we have to wait until January for Georgia to hold two run-off elections.

However, many are expressing confidence that the Republican candidates will win both. This combination rules out major tax changes, large stimulus packages, healthcare reform, and some crackdowns on big tech. What could happen is infrastructure spending and a cooldown in trade tensions.

Contact Brian at brian.hilyard@student.shu.edu