US Stocks Bounce Back as Moderna and Merck Surge
The US stock market ended its three-day losing streak on August 19, with major indexes rising modestly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.22% to 53,463, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.21% to 7,708 and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged 0.16% higher to 26,331.
The biggest movers of the day were Moderna (MRNA) and Merck (MRK), which both saw significant gains after announcing positive late-stage trial results for a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. MRNA shares more than doubled, rising 177%, while MRK gained 13%.
Other notable performers included Target (TGT), which reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings with sales up 5.3% and same-store sales rising 3.8%. However, not all companies fared well, as Sandisk (SNDK) fell 9% amid broader chip sector weakness.