Dow climbs to record close on coronavirus vaccine and economic stimulus benefit hopes

4:15 pm: DJIA improves for the fourth time in five sessions The blue chp index closed Wednesday up nearly 74 points, 0.2%, at 30,409.6, it's highest closing mark ever. The Nasdaq picked up 19.8 points, less than 0.2%, to 12,878, and the S&P 500 gained 5 points, 0.1%, to 3,732. Wednesday's gain meant the has picked up points in four of the last five sessions. Leading the index higher was The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) which improved 2.2% to $181.17. 12:20 pm: Going positively towards the year-end US stocks remained higher in lunchtime trade on Wednesday as coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine rollouts and hope for final approval of a US stimulus package continued to provide support. Around midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 165.21 points, or 0.5%, at 30,500.88, while both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%. Edward Moya, senior market analyst, New York, at OANDA commented: “US stocks are aiming for fresh record highs as stimulus payments arrive at American bank accounts and after the UK signed off on the COVID vaccine from AstraZeneca and University of Oxford.  “Risk appetite remains unfazed to the current dark period of COVID in the US that is recording over 3,000 daily deaths.  Yesterday’s death toll was a record at over 3,700 lives lost, which included the passing of Congressman-elect Luke Letlow from Lousianna.  “It seems that devastating news on the COVID front for Wall Street is translating into rising expectations the Biden administration will provide more stimulus in the first 100 days.  With the Fed anchored in all their extraordinary levels of accommodation, vaccine rollouts disappointment will keep the pressure on Congress to do more in the first quarter.” However, Moya noted that the S&P 500 index pared gains after reports that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Texas were delayed by temperature issues.  He also noted that bitcoin mania is running wild as bearish bets against the dollar rise to the highest levels since 2011.  Moya said: “Macro crypto traders and haters of fiat currencies remain blindly ultra-bullish and that could help Bitcoin test the $30,000 level before the year ends. In the past Bitcoin would see weakness on regulatory concerns, but prices seem resilient despite the latest problems with XRP, at one-point last week was the world’s third largest crypto.  “Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, decided to suspend trading in XRP after the SEC sued Ripple for illegally selling unregistered securities worth $1.3 billion. Regulatory fears have always posed a risk for Bitcoin, but for some institutional investors the price crash with XRP was a reminder that Bitcoin is best positioned to handle new regulatory restrictions.” 10:15 am: Positive momentum at open US stocks opened higher on Wednesday as coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine rollouts and hope for final approval of a bigger US stimulus package fuelled expectations the world-biggest economy will recover from the pandemic slump in 2021. After around three-quarters of an hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 124.19 points, or 0.4%, at 30,459.86, while the S&P 500 index also added 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, commented: ”As we come out of the other side of this year’s economic shock, it’s interesting to note that forward inflation expectations are higher than they were at the end of last year. Given the deflationary shock that has just hit the global economy, this is a little surprising to say the least.  “The extent of the economic damage that is yet to manifest itself as a result of the changes to the global economy are likely to take place over the next five years.” 7:50 am: Gains forecast at the start US stocks are expected to start Wednesday with another assault on recent record highs as investors bet on a strong economic recovery next year amid further coronavirus vaccine news, while a delayed Senate vote on the President Trump-approved stimulus package will be closely monitored. AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s coronavirus vaccine became the second to be approved by Britain on Wednesday, while European Union countries have begun rolling out Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine this week. However, the United States has also detected its first-known case of the new, highly infectious coronavirus strains already spotted in Britain and South Africa. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.4%, having shed 0.2% on Tuesday, with similar performances seen from the Dow Jones Industrials Average and Nasdaq Composite. US stocks had retreated from an intraday record on Tuesday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put off a vote on President Donald Trump’s call to increase coronavirus (COVID-19) relief checks. Although many Republican Senators remain adamantly opposed to increasing relief payments, support is growing among them, including two from Georgia, who are running in crucial races that will determine who will control the Senate. The Senate is also due to hold a procedural vote on Wednesday that could pave the way for Congress to override President Trump’s veto of a key defense bill, as tension between the outgoing Republican president and party leaders grows. Trump on Tuesday ramped-up pressure on his fellow Republicans to support his decision to veto the bill because it does not repeal certain legal protections for tech giants, and to back $2,000 one-time stimulus checks for struggling Americans. On currency markets, the dollar’s weakness continued, with the US currency dropping again on Wednesday, the first day where the settlement of trades will be in 2021. Meanwhile, Bitcoin on Wednesday jumped to a record $28,599.99, after the digital currency almost quadrupled in value this year amid heightened interest from bigger investors. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency was last up 2.3% at $28,012. It has surged by nearly half since breaking $20,000 for the first time on December 16.