coronavirus vaccines could soon help usher in a fuller global economic recovery. News that former Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen had accepted President-Elect Joe Biden's nomination to be his treasury secretary also lifted sentiment, analysts said.
Investors are looking beyond the shocks from a resurgence of the virus to focus on promising progress on vaccine development.
Several pharmaceutical companies have reported encouraging data recently suggesting their vaccine candidates are highly effective, raising hopes the economy will begin to turn around next year as the vaccines are distributed to a world beaten down by the COVID-19 pandemic.