Pfizer’s vaccine shows 90% effectiveness
A coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE has shown effectiveness in preventing the infection in more than 90% of the Covid-19 cases, the two companies announced on Monday in a joint statement citing the results of the first interim efficacy analysis conducted during the third phase of the jab’s trial.
The results show that the protection against the virus is achieved some 28 days after the start of the vaccination process while noting that the final vaccine efficacy may vary.
Wallstreet
Major indices in the US rose early trading on Monday following the vaccine news even as the market absorbed the news that Democrat Joe Biden was recognized as the president-elect.
Shares of BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc jumped more than 25% and 14%, respectively, in the premarket trading following the announcement.
Trump took to Twitter to praise the latest vaccine development.
Oil Prices Rise on Vaccine Hopes
Meanwhile, oil futures rose by more than 8% on Monday following the positive news with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for deliveries in December jumping 8.47% to go for $40.49 per barrel at 1:17 pm CET, while the Brent for settlements in January went up by 7.73% to sell for $42.66 per barrel at 1:18 pm CET.
Asian Markets; Nikkei closes highest since 1991
The Nikkei 225 index, the stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed the trading session on Monday at 24,940 points, a figure unseen since late 1991 and other Asian stock markets traded higher mainly driven by Joe Biden’s triumph.
The Nikkei 225 index closed 2.12% higher. The Shanghai Composite rose 2.01% at 7:02 am CET and the Shenzhen Composite Index surged 2.01% at 7:18 am CET, while the Hang Seng rose by 1.33% at 7:17 am CET. The Kospi gained 1.11% at 7:18 am CET. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia advanced 1.75% at the end of the trading session.
Softbank Earnings
Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company SoftBank Group Corp. on Monday released its earnings for the first half of 2020 with sales rising 3.6% to $25.4 billion.
Net income jumped by 253% to $18.1 billion while diluted earnings per share spiked by 374.5% to $8.72.
The company said the spike in earnings was driven by the monetization of assets including the sale of Arm Ltd’s shares to Nvidia Corporation.
ALSO READ; Nvidia to Acquire Chipmaker Arm from SoftBank for $40 Billion
