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hares of sports teams and the companies that help fans enjoy the game surged Monday, after an announcement by Pfizer that a potential COVID-19 vaccine appears to be developing at a best-case scenario of 90% effectiveness, showing hope for fans to be back at live events in 2021.

Cabot Wealth Management president and chief investment officer, Rob Lutts, said: “This is the day we’ve been waiting for.

“We wanted to see an announcement to give us hope that there was a vaccine.”

“The whole perception of the market now is that we have a solution, not a problem,” he said.

The JohnWallStreet Sports Stock Index reflected widespread optimism, advancing 4.3% midday Monday.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which owns performance venues including the Garden, as well as MSG Sports, a sister company that owns the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and minor league teams, were both up more than 20%.

G. Research director of research, John Tinker, said the news of stocks surging is a positive for sporting organisations.

“What’s happened is the market turned in a nanosecond from rewarding COVID plays,” Tinker said.

“The whole investing theme of ‘if you’re indoors, you win and if you’re live, you lose’ just got reversed,” he said.

Tinker also said teams who are heavily reliant on attendance revenue such as Manchester United and the Atlanta Braves, gained more than 12 per cent each on hopes of future attendance.

Sports-related companies that benefit from people staying at home, on the other hand, dropped.

Activision, which makes Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and the esports staple Call of Duty, slipped 3 per cent.

NBA 2K and PGA Tour 2K games, also dropped 6 per cent, despite a strong earnings report Friday, and collector’s universe, which reunited a newfound love of sports cards, tumbled 7 per cent.

The JohnWallStreet Sports Index is an equally weighted group of 40 equities reflecting the state of the sports business, including sports teams, media businesses, gaming and fantasy sports companies.