File photo: AFP

NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks climbed to records on Monday, fueled by fresh news on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 470.63 points, or 1.60 percent, to end at 29,950.44. The S&P 500 increased 41.76 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,626.91. Both the 30-stock index and the S&P 500 closed at record highs. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 94.84 points, or 0.80 percent, to 11,924.13.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors advanced, with energy closing up 6.5 percent, outpacing the rest. The health care group dipped 0.19 percent, the lone decliner.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded roughly flat, with five of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

U.S. biotechnology company Moderna on Monday said its experimental vaccine candidate was 94.5 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, sending the stock up more than 9 percent.

The news came as the upward trajectory in COVID-19 infections in the United States continued.

The country has reported more than 11 million cases in total with the death toll from the disease nearly reaching 247,000 as of Monday afternoon, showed a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

For the week ending Friday, the Dow climbed 4.1 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 2.2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.6 percent.