Europe Markets: European stocks boosted by vaccine news even as AstraZeneca slips

Europe Markets: European stocks boosted by vaccine news even as AstraZeneca slips

23 Nov    Finance News

A scientist works at the mAbxience biosimilar monoclonal antibody laboratory plant in Garin, Buenos Aires province, on Aug. 14, 2020, where an experimental coronavirus vaccine will be produced for Latin America.

juan mabromata/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

European stocks rose on Monday, on hopes that the arrival of vaccines as early as next month will start to reverse the economic effects of the second wave of coronavirus.

Up 1.1% last week, the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.40% rose 0.5%, led by travel plays, including International Airlines Group IAG, +5.29% and oil producers such as Repsol REP, +5.90%.

The German DAX DAX, +0.82%, French CAC 40 PX1, +0.67% and U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, +0.35% each advanced.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, +0.68% rose 208 points. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.67% ended 0.8% lower last week.

U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 set a record for the 29th consecutive day on Sunday, according to the COVID tracking project. On a per capita basis, Central European countries including Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland have the highest number of new cases.

The flash eurozone composite purchasing managers index fell to a six-month low in November due to the lockdowns across Europe, according to IHS Markit.

More good news came on the vaccine front as drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN, -1.49% AZN, +2.35% said a study found the vaccine it is developing with the University of Oxford was up to 90% effective, depending on the regimen. AstraZeneca shares fell 1.5%.

Drugmaker Pfizer PFE, +1.40% and biotech Moderna MRNA, +5.21%, using a different technique, found their vaccines about 95% effective, and the U.S. may begin vaccinations the day after Food and Drug Administration approval, according to the head of Operation Warp Speed.

“This is the third Monday in a row when encouraging vaccine news has hit the markets, and each time the positive impact on equities and other risk-linked assets has been getting smaller,” said Marios Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM. “A vaccine is great news, but the global economy has to get through a long winter first.”

Investors also are watching the status of trade negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union. Politico reported that the European Parliament is preparing for an extra plenary session between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to give consent to a possible post-Brexit trade deal.

HelloFresh HFG, -3.80%, the prepared foodkit maker that has seen a surge in demand during the pandemic, fell as it said it would buy Factor75, a U.S. ready-to-eat-meal maker, for up to $277 million.

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