US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens higher on hopes of COVID-19 vaccine

Wall Street opened higher as rising hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine overshadowed concerns of another round of possible lockdowns following a record surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech said a COVID-19 vaccine they had developed had shown potential and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.50 points, or 0.26%, at the open to 25,879.38. The S&P 500 opened higher by 5.63 points, or 0.18%, at 3,105.92, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 4.91 points, or 0.05%, to 10,063.67 at the opening bell.