Stocks Ended Higher, Pfizer Led Dow Higher

U.S. stocks ended solidly higher on Wednesday, as Pfizer led Dow higher after vaccine deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.44 points, or 0.62%, to 27,005.84. The S&P 500 added 18.72 points, or 0.57%, to 3,276.02. The Nasdaq Composite gained 25.76 points, or 0.24%, to 10,706.13.

Oil futures finished slightly lower Wednesday, pressured by an unexpected weekly climb in U.S. crude stockpiles. September WTI crude lost 2 cents, or 0.05%, at $41.90 a barrel. September Brent crude gave up 3 cents, or 0.07%, $44.29 a barrel.

The US government has offered Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) $1.95 billion in an initial order for 100 million doses of the companies’ Covid-19 vaccine candidate, according to a statement from the companies Wednesday morning. The US government can also acquire up to another 500 million doses of the inoculation, it added.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $11.2 billion, or $1.46 a share, on revenue of $38 billion Wednesday, after posting earnings of $1.71 a share on sales of $33.71 billion a year ago.