Business

An Iranian official said on Wednesday that Tehran exported up to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil since March, but was later quoted by an Iranian news agency casting doubt on the figure which had been kept secret as the country fights U.S. sanctions.

Tech led the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq higher and crude prices extended their rally on Wednesday, as hopes of potential COVID19 were tempered by spiking coronavirus infections and the looming threat of new lockdowns.

Wall Street's main indexes advanced on Wednesday as signs of a working COVID19 vaccine raised hopes of a fasterthanexpected economic rebound, with technology stocks bouncing back from steep losses this week as coronavirus cases spiraled.

Gold fell as much as 1.1% on Wednesday, hurt by a stronger dollar, while optimism around a potential COVID19 vaccine raised hopes for a quick economic rebound, driving investors towards riskier assets.

Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla sold $5.56 million worth of company shares on Monday, the day the drugmaker said its COVID19 vaccine was 90% effective based on interim trial results, a regulatory filing showed.

Switzerland increased funds it has set aide to buy vaccines against COVID19 to 400 million Swiss francs ($436 million), from 300 million francs previously, saying on Wednesday the additional infusion is necessary to ensure it can get supplies it needs.

Japan's Nissan Motor Co is struggling to revive a fortune that was weakened by scandal and worsened by the COVID19 pandemic.

Brent crude was up 31 cents, or 0.7%, at $43.92 a barrel by 0213 GMT, while U.S. oil gained 36 cents, or 0.9%, to $41.72 a barrel.

Apple Inc on Tuesday introduced a MacBook Air notebook and other computers with the first Appledesigned microprocessor, called the M1, a move that will tie its Macs and iPhones closer together technologically.

West Africa's top court held Guinea responsible on Tuesday for the killing of six villagers and the illegal arrest, injury or torture of 15 others during a protest near an ironore mine project owned by Brazil's Vale and an Israeli billionaire.

The nation's largest beauty store chain, Ulta Beauty, has a deal to place shops in more than 100 Target stores by mid2021.

BioNTech, first in the race to produce evidence of a working COVID19 vaccine, is planning to price the twoshot regimen below "typical market rates" and would differentiate pricing between countries or regions.

Microsoft Corp on Tuesday launched two models of its Xbox gaming console, seven years after the debut of the previous version, to capture a pandemicdriven boom in consumer spending on games.

Investors ran into trading difficulties Monday as several leading brokerage firms experienced technical issues that limited user access.

The S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs on Monday as the first successful latestage clinical trial of a COVID19 vaccine sparked hopes of the economy emerging from a pandemicdriven crisis.