US stock indexes are mixed in early afternoon trading on Wednesday in New York, easing off a fresh set of record highs reached on optimism that coronavirus vaccines could soon start driving a stronger economic recovery.
The S&P 500 has inched 0.1 per cent higher after opening December with a bang. It closed at a record high of 3,662.45 on Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite, which also opened the month with a new record, is 0.2 per cent lower while the Dow Jones has lost 0.1 per cent. Despite the soft lead, the Australian sharemarket is poised for gains at the open, with futures at 5.00am AEDT pointing to a gain of 18 points, or 0.3 per cent, at the open.
Wall Street is lower but still hovering near record highs on Wednesday. Credit:AP
Technology companies were the biggest drag on the market. Salesforce.com fell 6.9 per cent after announcing a deal late on Tuesday to buy messaging platform Slack for $US27.7 billion. Microsoft fell 0.9 per cent. The sector has been leading the market higher since the pandemic started wreaking havoc on the global economy, but hopes for a vaccine and return to economic normalcy have been shifting money toward companies whose profits are more closely tied to the economy’s strength.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they’ve won permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, the world’s first coronavirus shot that’s backed by rigorous science and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic. The move makes Britain one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population against the virus. The companies have already asked for approval to begin vaccinations in the US in December.
