Stocks go higher as Moderna releases positive vaccine data The Dow hit an all-time intraday high after Moderna ($MRNA) followed the lead of Pfizer ($PFE) with encouraging vaccine news and actually one-upped the pharma giant with its headline efficacy results. After Pfizer and partner BioNTech ($BNTX) said last Monday that their mRNA-based vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%, Moderna said this morning that its own candidate met the statistical criteria pre-specified in the study protocol with a vaccine efficacy of 94.5%. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index fell 4.2 points to 6.3 in November, missing expectations for a bounce. Data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 54.6M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including over 11M in the U.S., and 1.32M deaths due to the disease, including about 247,000 in the U.S. TOP NEWS: Shares of Moderna closed 9.6% higher after the company reported that mRNA-1273 showed 94.5% efficacy against COVID-19 on the first interim analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study of the company's COVID-19 vaccine. In addition to reporting that the trial has met the statistical criteria pre-specified in the study protocol for efficacy, Moderna announced new data showing that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate remains stable at the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator for 30 days, which should help ease the complications of distribution and vaccination efforts. Following the news, Reuters reported that the European Commission is seeking to reach an agreement with Moderna for supply of millions of doses of the vaccine candidate for a price of under $25 per dose, while the U.K. government announced that it has secured 5M doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Home Depot ($HD) announced an agreement to acquire HD Supply Holdings ($HDS), a national distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products that it had previously spun-off and sold over a decade ago. Home Depot will commence a cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of HD Supply common stock for $56 per share, for a total enterprise value of approximately $8B, the companies reported. In other M&A news, BBVA ($BBVA) announced a deal to sell its subsidiary in the U.S. to PNC ($PNC) for $11.6B in cash. That sale price represents 19.7 times the unit's 2019 earnings, and almost 50% of BBVA's current market capitalization, the bank reported. In addition, BBVA subsequently confirmed that it is maintaining conversations with representatives of Banco de Sabadell ($BNDSY), with the authorization of its board, in relation to "a potential merger transaction between the two entities." In even more M&A news, Banco Santander ($SAN) announced that it has agreed with the insolvency administrator of several Wirecard ($WCAGY) entities, Dr. Michael Jaffe and Wirecard Bank AG to acquire several highly specialized technological assets from the merchant payments business of Wirecard in Europe. The acquired assets include payment solutions for merchants for acquiring and issuance services. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Taubman Centers ($TCO), which gained 8.4% after the company and Simon Property ($SPG) announced a revised merger at $43 per share. While down from the original deal price of $52.50, the modified merger agreement continues to provide that Simon will acquire an 80% ownership interest in The Taubman Realty Group and that the Taubman family will sell approximately one-third of its ownership interest at the transaction price to remain a 20% partner in TRG. Also higher was SL Green Realty ($SLG), which rose 3.5% after announcing that it and its joint venture partners, the National Pension Service of Korea and Hines, have closed on a $1.25B construction loan for One Madison Avenue. Among the notable losers was Rapt Therapeutics ($RAPT), which fell 46.1% after it reported quarterly results and announced initial clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of FLX475. Also lower was Resideo ($REZI) which fell 13.9% after it filed to sell 17M shares of common stock. Nasdaq Composite +32.9% YTDS&P 500 +12.3% YTDRussell 2000 +7.0% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average +5.0% YTDMarket SnapshotDow29950.38+470.63(1.60%)Nasdaq11924.05+94.84(0.80%)SP 5003627.05+41.76(1.16%)10-yr Note -1/320.907NYSEAdv 2502 Dec 543 Vol 1.1 blnNasdaqAdv 2462 Dec 1001 Vol 4.1 blnIndustry WatchStrong: Energy, Financials, Materials, IndustrialsWeak: Health Care, Real EstateMoving the Market-- Moderna (MRNA) said its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective, according to interim Phase 3 data-- Cyclical, value, and small-cap stocks outperformed; health care sector bucked the positive trend-- S&P 500, Dow, and Russell 2000 closed at record highs Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. 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