August 24, 2020

Stocks moved higher to begin the week, with every major index finishing up about 1%. In economic news, existing home sales was higher than expected, reporting 5.86 million in July.

Dow Jones +378 at 28,308

S&P 500 +34 at 3,431

NASDAQ +68 at 11,380

The 10 Year Treasury closed up 1 basis point yielding 0.65%

Oil prices closed up $0.10 ending at $42.44 a barrel

Gold prices closed down $12 ending at $1,923 an ounce

The days’ stock news:

The White House is considering fast-tracking AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The FDA may give emergency use authorization for the vaccine. AstraZeneca shares increased 2% today.
American Airlines shares surged after announcing the EPA will approve the use of a new surface coating that kills the coronavirus. The EPA said the coating inactivates viruses and bacteria within 2 hours and is effective for up to 7 days.
Blackstone struck a deal to buy the consumer health-care business of Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical for about $2.3 billion.