AstraZeneca Vaccine Announcement Pushes Equities to Record Highs

Vaccine developments push equities to all-time highs

Yesterday morning, AstraZeneca announced the results of a large trial, which showed that their vaccine was up to 90% effective in preventing COVID-19.  With three successful vaccines now pending approval, equity markets looked beyond rising COVID-19 cases to climb to record highs- the DJIA climbing above 30,000 for the first time in history. Treasury yields and swap rates are also sharply higher across the curve – the 10-year rising nearly 6 bps over the past two days to 0.88%.

PMI composite index rose to 57.9 in November

The composite index rose from October’s 56.3 to the highest reading since March 2015.  Despite the surge in infection rates and new virus restrictions, the manufacturing index rose to 56.7 from 53.4 last month while the services index rose to 57.7 from 56.9 last month.  Both the manufacturing and services industries have experienced substantial growth after they were heavily impacted in March due to the pandemic.

Biden picks Yellen for Treasury secretary

President-Elect Joe Biden has chosen former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as the next Treasury secretary. She will become the first woman to head the Treasury, the Fed, and the While House Council of Economic Advisors.  Yellen, like current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, believes the economy requires additional support from Congress to support the pace of the recovery.  In a September interview, Yellen added, “There is a huge amount of suffering out there. The economy needs the spending.”