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| - Wall Street stocks jumped in early trading Monday as a positive announcement about a trial on a coronavirus vaccine added to hopes for a reopening of the US economy. About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 24,462.19, up around 775 points, or 3.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.8 percent to 2,942.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.1 percent to 9,202.57. Investors greeted an announcement from US biotech firm Moderna, which reported "positive interim" results in the first clinical tests of its vaccine against the new coronavirus performed on a small number of volunteers. Economists view a vaccine as essential to restoring economic prosperity following a series of punishing shutdowns to try to contain the coronavirus. Shares of Moderna, which said it aims to launch a phase 3 study of the vaccine in July, surged 19.1 percent. US Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell told "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday night that he expects the US economy to recover in the second half of 2020, but cautioned that "it's going to take a while for us to get back." "It could stretch through the end of next year," Powell said. "We really don't know." This week's economic calendar includes key housing reports, as well as the weekly data on jobless claims. Several prominent retailers report earnings this week, including big-box giants Walmart and Target. jmb/cs
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