Dow Jones Slumps as Virus Cases Soar; Walmart Bets on Pets; Nike Stock Down Despite Analyst Optimism

An effective COVID-19 vaccine being widely available early next year looks likely following news earlier this week that a vaccine candidate from Pfizer was at least 90% effective in preventing a viral infection. The light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is now visible, but the path to get there runs through what will likely be a very rough winter for the United States.

The U.S. registered over 140,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, far above peak levels reached earlier this year. New lockdown and stay-at-home orders may be necessary to slow the spread until a vaccine is ready, and that could seriously hurt the U.S. economy over the coming months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 0.45% at 11 a.m. EST Thursday as investors weighed the optimistic vaccine news against the cold reality of a winter wave of COVID-19.

Turning to individual stocks, shares of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) were up slightly on Thursday after the company announced an expansion of its pet services offerings, timed as pet adoption rates rise during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Nike (NYSE: NKE) stock was down slightly even after an analyst recommended the stock.

Source Fool.com