Stocks Higher on U.K. Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout

New York (Dec 30)  Stocks were higher Wednesday amid a stalled push to increase stimulus payments for most Americans to $2,000 and the U.K.'s approval of a second coronavirus vaccine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 114 points, or 0.38%, to 30,449, while the S&P 500 was up 0.33% and the Nasdaq rose 0.34%.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) defied demands from President Donald Trump to follow House lawmakers and triple the amount of direct payments to Americans in the $892 million covid relief bill to $2,000 from $600.

Instead, he attached broader legislation that would both repeal liability protections for social-media companies while setting up a commission to study electoral fraud.

Democrats largely oppose the two items McConnell added in. The move likely kills any changes of increased payments under the current Congress, which expires this weekend.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca  (AZN) - Get Report and the University of Oxford was approved by the U.K. government, making Britain the first country to authorize the shot for emergency use.

TheStreet