warren buffett
Warren Buffett
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  • Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway racked up a $10 billion gain across the four biggest holdings in its stock portfolio on Monday.
  • The billionaire investor’s company gained as much as $3 billion from each of Apple, Bank of America, and American Express, plus another $1.5 billion from its Coca-Cola shares, after news of Pfizer’s promising COVID-19 vaccine sparked a broad market rally.
  • Berkshire’s bias towards financials, industrials, and consumer goods meant it was hit hard by widespread lockdowns this year, but its exposure to the “real economy” fueled significant portfolio gains on Monday.
  • The conglomerate’s stakes in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard, and other companies also jumped in value.
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway scored a $10 billion gain from the four biggest holdings in its stock portfolio on Monday, as news of Pfizer’s effective COVID-19 vaccine spiked their prices.

Apple stock rose as much as 2.8%, boosting the value of Berkshire’s roughly 981 million shares in the technology titan by more than $3 billion. Berkshire’s number-two holding, Bank of America, climbed as much as 12%, generating another $3 billion in paper gains for the conglomerate.

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Coca-Cola stock jumped as much as 8%, lifting the value of Berkshire’s $400 million shares in the beverage behemoth by $1.5 billion. Finally, American Express soared by up to 20%, adding another $3 billion to Berkshire’s gains.

Excluding Apple, Berkshire's portfolio is dominated by financial, consumer-goods, and industrial stocks, all of which have been hit hard by the pandemic. However, its "real economy" bets rallied on Monday, as investors wagered an effective vaccine would revitalize the US economy and help traditional industries rebound.

Several other Berkshire holdings rose in value too. For example, the company gained as much as $400 million and $270 million respectively on its diminished Wells Fargo and JPMorgan stakes, as both bank stocks jumped roughly 10%. Berkshire's stakes in Visa, Mastercard, Synchrony Financial, and Suncor Energy also soared in value.

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