Why Dow, Alcoa, and Freeport-McMoRan Stocks Are All Hopping Today

By now you've probably heard the news: biotech Moderna Inc. appears to have a viable coronavirus vaccine -- "mRNA-1273" -- that "interim Phase 1 data" from a study of 45 people shows to be "generally safe and well tolerated." In at least eight of those subjects, it generated enough of the right kind of antibodies to suggest that it might provide "full protection against viral replication" of the SARS-CoV-19 coronavirus.

Investors are elated, and the S&P 500 Index of companies is up well over 3% this afternoon on the news. The optimism has spilled over from the biotech sector, too, to infect (in a good way) stocks as far away as the basic materials sectors of chemicals ( Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) up 9.4% in 1:45 p.m. EDT trading), copper ( Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) up 8.4%), and aluminum, too, with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) shares up an astounding 16.3%!

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