Markets Move Higher As Pfizer Vaccine Is 95% Effective

Pfizer And BioNTech Report Final Results Of Their COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

Traders have a reason to be in a good mood today as the efficiency of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is better than previously reported.

According to the final trial data, the vaccine is 95% effective, compared to earlier indications of “more than 90% effective”. Importantly, the vaccine is 94% effective for people over 65 years old who have the biggest risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Pfizer stated that it would apply for emergency U.S. authorization in the upcoming days.

Not surprisingly, S&P 500 futures are moving higher in premarket trading as traders cheer the positive news on the vaccine front.

At this point, the market is very bullish on riskier assets which is highlighted by the recent underperformance of precious metals.

While the U.S. dollar continues to lose ground against a broad basket of currencies, gold and silver remain under pressure as demand for safe haven assets decreases.

If this mood prevails, S&P 500 will be able to test all-time highs in the upcoming trading sessions.

Oil Gets Back Above The $42 Level Despite Rising Inventories

The recent API Crude Oil Stock Change Report indicated that crude inventories increased by 4.17 million barrels compared to analyst consensus which called for an increase of 1.95 million barrels.

Typically, the increase in crude inventories is bearish for the oil market, but oil traders look ready to focus on longer-term outlook amid encouraging developments on the vaccine front.

As a result, energy-related stocks are set for another strong trading session and are ready to continue their rebound.

Housing Starts Increased By 4.9% In October

The U.S. has just provided Building Permits and Housing Starts reports for October. Building Permits were flat compared to the previous month after growing by 4.7% in September. Analysts expected that Building Permits would increase by 1.3%.

Meanwhile, Housing Starts were better than analyst expectations, growing by 4.9% month-over-month compared to analyst forecast of 2.1%.

The housing market remains strong which is not surprising given the low interest rates and active money-printing from the U.S. Fed. The strength of the housing market is especially encouraging at a time when the economy has to deal with the second wave of the virus.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.