Futures are down this morning after finishing out the quarter strongly yesterday.
Stocks rallied yesterday after testimony to Congress by U.S.Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, underscoring ongoing commitment and support to anchor the U.S. economy through the global public health disaster.
Both the S&P and the Dow booked their best quarterly performance in more than 20 years, Nasdaq had its best since ‘99, having recovered from their lows in March.
There is an air of cautiousness as we enter the second half of 2020. Many factors are in play which could heavily impact the stock market in the second half of 2020.
Developments in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus bring hope for a steady economic recovery. Pharmaceutical stocks have been a favorite for investors over the past few months, as we have watched a few tickers like MRNA, INO and GILD climb.
This morning Pfizer (PFE) along with its partner Biontech (BNTX) announced early positive results for their vaccine. Things are developing quickly for this study. If they can get approval, they will begin their 30,000 participant phase three trial in late July. Pfizer has multiple partnerships with different companies working toward a vaccine. The partnership with Biontech is the first to announce positive results. Results for other studies could be coming in the next few weeks. PFE stock is climbing premarket on the news.
Pharmaceutical stocks are a notoriously bumpy ride, but have potential for substantial gains. Pfizer’s four partnerships could benefit its investors as each of the four studies are expected to produce results in the coming weeks.
