Stocks finished higher Monday following a volatile week on Wall Street, led by reopening stocks as the Food and Drug Administration approved its first COVID-19 vaccine.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 215.63 points to 35,335.71.
The S&P 500 zoomed 37.86 points to 4,479.53
The NASDAQ Composite popped 227.99 points, or 1.6%, to 14,942.65, a new high.
Shares of vaccine makers traded higher Monday after the FDA granted full approval for the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19. Pfizer shares rose 2.5%. Its partner BioNTech's stock jumped 9.6% and Moderna climbed 7.6% higher.
Travel and leisure stocks reacted positively to the news, with Delta gaining 2% and American Airlines moving 3% higher, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines gained about 4%.
The immediate impact of the FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine on efforts to combat the virus could be muted until the U.S. population reaches herd immunity, which “will be a while,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.
Energy stocks are leading the S&P 500 as oil prices jumped Monday and snapped its longest losing streak since 2019. Diamondback Energy and Devon Energy gained about 6% while Occidental Petroleum rose nearly 7%.
Traders are eagerly awaiting the Jackson Hole symposium for clues on the Fed's timeline for dialing back its $120 billion a month bond-buying program. The event takes place virtually on Thursday and Friday.
The Fed previously was going to conduct the event in a mixed virtual and live presentation, but decided Friday to go all virtual in light of the rising virus risk.
Chairman Jerome Powell's speech will be titled “The Economic Outlook,” which “may suggest the speech could have a more near-term focus,” Nomura economist Aichi Amemiya said in a note.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were unchanged, keeping yields at Friday's 1.26%.
Oil prices recovered $3.26 to $65.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $23.10 to $1,807.10 U.S. an ounce.