Nasdaq Composite Leads Market Gains as Stocks Remain Unmoved with JNJ Vaccine Halt

While the announcement negatively impacted JNJ shares, the overall outlook in tech stocks was bullish.

Godfrey Benjamin By Godfrey Benjamin Updated 3 mins read
Nasdaq Composite Leads Market Gains as Stocks Remain Unmoved with JNJ Vaccine Halt
Photo: NYSE / Twitter

The United States stock market remains largely unmoved after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is recommending a halt in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). The Nasdaq Composite showed the biggest gains on Tuesday rising 146.10 points atop a 1.05% surge to 13,996.10. The S&P 500 Index also advanced 0.33% to 4,141.59 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.20% to 33,677.27. 

Nasdaq Composite Gains

The halt in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout was informed based on the growing cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in patients who received the jab according to the FDA. The halt will be in effect until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wraps up its investigation into the reported cases.

“Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause,” the FDA said. “This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.”

While the announcement negatively impacted JNJ shares dragging down to a bearish close of 1.34% to $159.48, the overall positive outlook in tech stocks was bullish which resulted in Nasdaq gains. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) rose 3.09% to $627.18, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) inked a slight gain of 0.61% to $3,399.92, while electric automaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) jumped 8.60% to $762.32.

The unimpacted growth seen may be due to the confidence in the JNJ vaccine stoppage not serving as a threat to the overall vaccination program according to the White House.

“Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines,” said Jeff Zients, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator. “This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the President’s goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office.”

Rising Inflation Gets Shunned by the Market

The broader market has also shunned the higher than expected inflation rate as measured by the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released lately. The CPI rose by 0.6% in March and by 2.6% year-over-year, a figure that slightly surpasses the expected 0.5% month-over-month and 2.5% year-over-year figures respectively.

“US equities are drifting slightly higher Tuesday as investors digest a higher-than-expected inflation in the CPI report and position ahead of 1Q21 earnings, which start on Wednesday,” Chris Hussey, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note. “Underneath the surface, the market is assuming a defensive posture today led by mega-cap Tech and the bond proxies- Utilities and Real Estate.”

While these inflationary figures appear concerning is sustained, the US stock market is optimistic for a broader market recovery in the coming quarters.

Godfrey Benjamin

Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalist who relishes writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desire to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain media and sites.

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