The three US benchmark indices rebounded for the second trading day after a three-day selloff sparked by omicron fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.74%, the S&P 500 gained 1.02%, and Nasdaq was up 1.18%.
In a fresh study from South Africa, the data shows that the omicron hospitalization risk is 80% less than the other variants and the severity is 70% lower than Delta. Also, the FDA granted Pfizer's Covid treatment pill as emergency authorization to people at high risk who develop severe Covid-19. The drug maker's shares were up 1% on Wednesday, and 14.5% MTD.
On the data front, the December consumer confidence rose more than economists forecast, suggesting American households expect the economy to rebound further in the fourth quarter. The US final Q3 GDP printed at 2.3%, slightly revised higher than the previous data. The positive Covid news and strong economic data boosted risk-on sentiment and pushed the stock markets to approach "Santa Rally".
Tesla's share price jumped more than 7.2% after the CEO Elon Musk said he had sold enough shares to pay tax in a podcast interview with the Babylon Bee. According to SEC filing, Musk sold nearly 584, 000 more Tesla shares and exercised 2 million options on Tuesday.
11 sectors finished higher in the S&P 500. Consumer discretionary and healthcare both were up more than 1% and led broader gains. The tech giants mostly rose and lift the tech stocks. Apple was up 1.31%, Microsoft rose 1.42%, and Alphabet gained 1.93%.
The crude oil price extended gains amid the less than expected inventory data from the EIA. The US oil inventories fell 4.72 million barrels for the week ended on the 17th of December, which was the biggest weekly draw since September. The WTI futures price gained 2.52%, to $72.91.
The USD, however, weakened further against the major currencies as bond yields stay tepid. The dollar index fell 0.47%, to 96.02 on Wednesday.
The gold futures price rose $18, to $1805.5 per ounce.
The 10-year US Treasury yield slightly fell to 1.457%.
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