Reuters / Lucas Jackson
US stocks fell on Wednesday as new economic restrictions erased morning optimism around coronavirus vaccine news.
New York City announced Wednesday afternoon that it will shut down public schools as virus infection rates spike.
The vaccine candidate being developed by
Pfizer and
BioNTech was
95% effective at protecting against COVID-19 in patients in a late-stage trial, Pfizer said Wednesday. The firms plan to apply for emergency use authorization on Friday.
Bitcoin surged above $18,000 before paring some gains. The cryptocurrency's strong momentum has placed it just below record highs seen in 2017.
Watch major indexes update live here.
US equities erased early gains and sank on Wednesday as new economic restrictions offset hopes for sooner-than-expected coronavirus vaccine distribution.A New York City announced Wednesday afternoon that it will close schools and transition to online learning to curb the virus's spread. The US reported 155,835 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and hospitalizations neared 77,000, according to
the COVID Tracking Project. The new lockdown measures intensify concerns that surging case counts will freeze the nation's economic rebound.Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Wednesday:
S&P 500: 3,567.79, down 1.2%
Dow Jones industrial average: 29,438.42, down 1.2% (345 points)
Nasdaq composite: 11,801.60, down 0.8%
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