Investors return to Wall Street hoping for a recovery from the pandemic

Investors return to Wall Street hoping for a speedy recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The US standard value index Dow Jones rose by almost one percent to 34,138 points. The broad S&P 500 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq lagged behind with gains of 0.6 and 0.1 percent. They were thwarted by a warning from Fitch rating agency that the dispute over raising the debt ceiling could weigh on US creditworthiness. The Congress had agreed on a transitional budget and thus averted a "Government Shutdown", the closure of numerous authorities. But if the debt ceiling is not raised, the world's largest economy is threatened with insolvency in the middle of the month. The political bickering doesn't make a good impression, said Randy Frederick, manager at brokerage firm Charles Schwab. It could discourage foreign investors from buying US Treasuries. "If that happened, the yields would go up a lot. And if the yields go up because people don't want the bonds, it would have a very negative impact on the market." The joy of investors about the encouraging test results of a Covid drug from Merck & Co could only dampen this slightly. According to the information, the agent reduces the risk of hospitalization or death in the event of an infection by about half. "It gives people hope that the return to normal will not go off course despite cases of infections in vaccinated people," said Thomas Hayes, manager at asset manager Great Hill. As a result, shares in the pharmaceutical company rose at times by a good twelve percent to a one and a half year high of $ 84.30. The Merck drug also fueled speculation that the tourism industry would recover quickly. The shares of the airlines American Airlines, Delta and United rose by up to six percent. The cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian gained up to five percent. The titles of the online travel agency Booking.com advanced three percent. On the other hand, manufacturers of Covid vaccines came under the wheels. The shares of Biontech collapsed by ten percent. Development partner Pfizer's stocks fell one percent. Papers of the rival Moderna crashed by more than twelve percent.