Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Monday, allowing the S&P 500 to regain the ground it lost last week and bringing it just shy of another record high. The benchmark index added 0.9%, driven by gains in a broad range of technology, financial, and communication stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high. Energy stocks rose the most as the price of crude oil climbed 5.3%, recovering some of the ground it lost in recent days. The S&P 500 rose 37.86 points, to 4,479.53. The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 215.63 points, or 0.61%, to 35,331.71, and the Nasdaq closed at 14,942.65, up 227.99 points, or 1.55%. Small-company stocks outgained the broader market. The Russell 2000 index was up 1.8%.
Pfizer rose 2.5% after the Food & Drug Administration gave full approval to its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine had been under an emergency use authorization since December, but the full approval could convince some reluctant Americans to now get their shot and will likely give local authorities the legal backing to impose mandates. BioNTech, a German drug manufacturer which developed the vaccine with Pfizer, jumped 9.6% on the news, the AP reports. Moderna, which developed a similar vaccine that uses the same technology, vaulted 7.5%.
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