Day Traders Diary

12/3/20

U.S. stocks cut gains in the final hour of trading on Thursday after Dow Jones reported Pfizer is cutting its coronavirus vaccine rollout plan due to supply-chain issues. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 85 points or 0.29% after gaining more than 200 points at session high. The S&P 500 turned negative declining 2 points after hitting a new intraday high earlier in the day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 27 points or 0.23%.

Pfizer now expects to ship half of the doses it had previously planned after finding raw materials in early production that didn't meet its standard, Dow Jones reported. Pfizer and BioNtech are now on track to roll out 1.3 billion vaccines in 2021 and the 50 million dose shortfall this year will be covered as production ramps up.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 712,000 last week, lower than an estimate of 780,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Jobless claims also reached a pandemic-era low as the labor market showed resilience even in the face of a worsening pandemic.

The Labor Department is set to release its closely watched jobs report for November on Friday. The U.S. economy is expected to have added 440,000 jobs, a slowdown from 638,000 in October, according to Dow Jones.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the phone Thursday for the first time since at least the 2020 election as lawmakers seek to strike a coronavirus stimulus deal.

McConnell said he has seen "hopeful signs" toward reaching an agreement before the end of the year, adding "compromise is within reach." The Kentucky Republican did not endorse the $908 billion bipartisan proposal after it was released on Tuesday.