The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes closed at record highs on Tuesday, with investors betting a COVID-19 vaccine will be available soon, and more confident about a speedy economic recovery following upbeat Chinese factory data.
Investors stayed focused on updates about a handful of vaccine candidates and the start of global shipments as drugmakers submit paperwork for regulatory approvals.
Pfizer Inc jumped after the drugmaker and Germany's BioNTech SE sought emergency approval of their vaccine candidate from the European regulator.
The partners are neck-and-neck with rival Moderna Inc , which also applied for emergency approval from the European regulator. Its stock tumbled from a record high the day before.