Merck Shouldn't Matter to the Nasdaq's Vaccine Stocks

The stock market bounced back on Friday from weakness earlier in the week, but the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) didn't come close to regaining all its lost ground. As of 2:30 p.m. EDT, the Nasdaq was up about two-thirds of a percent, trailing the performance of other major market benchmarks.

Some of what weighed on the Nasdaq was poor performance from the superstar COVID-19 vaccine stocks that have done so well over the past year. Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) were all sharply lower.

Yet even though good news from Merck (NYSE: MRK) could represent another turning point in the fight against COVID-19, it really doesn't make sense for investors to conclude that it's a bad thing for vaccine stocks. Here's why.

Source Fool.com