S&P 500, Nasdaq close at record highs as vaccine approval supports recovery hopes ahead of Fed conference

Traders work at the NYSE floor. Thomson Reuters
Tuesday's record closing of the S&P 500 as well as the Nasdaq Composite was a great day for investors.

After the FDA's initial approval for a coronavirus vaccine, stocks continued to rise.

One portfolio manager says that investors are waiting for the Fed's communication that monetary policy will be accommodative.

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Stocks closed Tuesday at record highs, expanding Monday's gains after the Food and Drug Administration approved a COVID-19 vaccination. This raises expectations that more vaccines will be available to help the recovery of the largest economy in the world.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record levels, based on gains made Monday after Pfizer's approval of the COVID-19 vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration.

Stock gains were recorded ahead of Thursday's Federal Reserve's virtual Jackson Hole conference in Wyoming where Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will discuss the outlook for the US economy's recovery.

Here are the US indexes at 4:00 PM on Tuesday.

According to Keith Buchanan (senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments), "The buy the-dip" mentality has helped stocks stay close to record highs throughout this year. Buchanan told Insider Tuesday. He said that while the US economy is still recovering from the worst coronavirus pandemic, it has been showing signs of slowing consumer and other activity.

Some "monetary policymakers" are communicating that tapering is not an assured possibility and that the Fed's decision-making process is data-dependent. The data is already starting to soften. Markets have a bit more breathing room because monetary policy can be flexible enough to be more accommodating until the negative pressure subsides are removed.

CrowdStrike stock rose in the markets as the cybersecurity company is being added to the Nasdaq 100 index.

Apple stock has increased more than 1,000% in the ten years since Tim Cook took over as CEO.

Joel Greenblatt, value investor, slashed his GameStop stakes and AMC stakes prior to the meme-stock boom. He missed out on a $400 million potential windfall.

Roger Federer, the tennis legend, has backed a Swiss shoemaker that will go public in New York with a potential $8 billion valuation.

The gold price fell 0.1% to $1804.81 an ounce. The yield of the US 10-year Treasury Note rose to 1.29%.

Oil prices surged. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 3.2%, to $67.73 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark for oil, rose 3.6% to $71.22 per barrel.

Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $49 348.87