Stocks opened higher Tuesday evening, after a choppy session earlier sent the S&P 500 within striking distance of a record close before the the blue-chip index lost steam and declined.
Shares of Moderna (MRNA) jumped more than 10% shortly after 6 p.m. ET, after the company announced a deal to supply the US government with 100 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate currently in late-stage human trials. Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock (TSLA) rose 7% after the company announced a five-for-one stock split, with the stock having closed at well over $1,300 per share earlier Tuesday.
Stocks’ regular-session drop – the first for the S&P 500 and Dow in eight sessions – came as prospects for a near-term virus relief package from Congress dimmed. Primary negotiators including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not met since Friday to discuss a new package, with lawmakers still deeply divided on the amount of aid to be unleashed to state and local governments.
Other national developments also added to a risk-off mood Tuesday afternoon. The Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 each announced that they would be postponing their fall sports seasons as concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic abounded, following days of speculation over the fate of one of the big revenue drivers for major universities.
“Having college football in the fall is a sign of normalcy returning,” Jim Bianco, Bianco Research President and CEO, told Yahoo Finance during “The Final Round” on Tuesday.
The season’s postponement “is an indication to everybody in those neighborhoods, or those states, that things have not returned to normal yet,” Bianco said. “The big one in college football is the SEC, from Florida to Arkansas, all the way to South Carolina and Clemson – they haven’t said anything. But I think if they were to delay to the spring as well, that could actually bleed into the election, too. You’d be telling everybody in that important place for voting, it ain’t ready yet. It ain’t right yet.”
Elsewhere, earnings season continues Wednesday with a relatively light slate of companies set to report, including Lyft (LYFT), Tencent (0700.HK) and Cisco (CSCO).
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Here were the main moves in equity markets, as of 6:03 p.m. ET:
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S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,339.5, up 9.5 points, or 0.29%
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Dow futures (YM=F): 27,685.00, up 71 points, or 0.26%
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Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 10,935.5, up 57 points, or 0.52%
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 20: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 20, 2020 in New York City. Trading on the floor will temporarily become fully electronic starting on Monday to protect employees from spreading the coronavirus. The Dow fell over 500 points on Friday as investors continue to show concerns over COVID-19. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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