Vaccine stocks continued to rise in early trading, Moderna shares surged more than 23%.

Vaccine stocks continued to rise in early trading, Moderna shares surged more than 23% and BioNTech jumped nearly 19%.Germany's BioNTech  said it is studying the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine against the new B.1.1.529 variant detected in South Africa - The Economic Times.

"We expect more data from the laboratory tests in two weeks at the latest. These data will provide more information about whether B.1.1.529 could be an escape variant that may require an adjustment of our vaccine if the variant spreads globally," a BioNTech spokesperson said.