US markets mixed; Li Auto rallied on July deliveries; Pfizer jumped on price hike

The US markets started August with a mixed session on Monday as investor optimism about the economic expansion boosting corporate earnings was met with fears that the Delta COVID-19 strain spreading will impact market volatility.

The Dow Jones fell 0.28% to finish the trading day down 97 points to close at 34,838 points .

The tech heavy NASDAQ rose 0.1% to finish the trading day up 8 points to close at 14,681 points with Tesla and Google gaining 3.27% and 0.57% respectively.

One bitcoin is worth US$39,208 going into the Asian trading day.

The Australian dollar is stronger against the major currencies and is buying 73.63 US cents.

Chinese EV manufacturer Li Auto rallied just under 1% on Monday after providing an update on July performance. For the month, Li Auto delivered a record 8589 Li ONEs, up 11.4% MoM and 251.3% YoY. Li Auto beat Chinese EV competitor Nio, which only delivered 7931 vehicles in July.

US-biotech giant Pfizer rose more than 2% yesterday after the company raised its COVID-19 vaccine prices in Europe. Pfizer has increased its vaccine price from 15.50 euros to 19.50 euros in its latest European Union supply contracts.

And Amazon has launched a US$55 soap dispenser that uses Alexa?s voice assistance to remind users to wash their hands for 20-seconds.