The S&P 500 and Dow hit record highs moments after the open on Monday, as news of the first successful late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trials stirred hopes of the economy emerging from a year of pandemic-driven crisis. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,144.50 points, or 4.04 percent, at the open to 29,467.90. 

The S&P 500 opened higher by 73.60 points, or 2.10 percent, at 3,583.04, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 151.43 points, or 1.27 percent, to 12,046.66 at the opening bell.

U.S. banks, including Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, often seen as a proxy for the broader economy, jumped between 5 and 8 percent after Pfizer and BioNtech said data showed the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

The companies, the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial, said they had found no serious safety concerns so far, and expect to seek U.S. emergency use authorization later this month.

"The bigger driver of the economic outlook is from the outside factors," said ING analyst Carsten Brzeski. "Right now that means the development of a vaccine."

By contrast, shares in tech and other companies seen as "stay-at-home" winners were lower or gaining less.

Biden's victory in Pennsylvania on Saturday put him above the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency, four days after Election Day, although President Donald Trump does not plan to concede anytime soon.

(Cover: A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York. /Reuters)