European

European stocks end choppy session higher on vaccine hopes

By 4 months ago

By Sruthi Shankar and Julien Ponthus

(Reuters) – Hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine pulled European stocks from losses earlier on Wednesday, after fears of a no-deal Brexit and anxieties relating to the European Union’s recovery fund had weighed on sentiment.

Ending a choppy session, the pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> rose 0.2%, with blue-chip indexes in Paris <.FCHI>, Milan <.FTMIB> and London <.FTSE> down about 0.2%

Markets on both sides of the Atlantic got a boost as a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> and German biotech firm BioNTech <BNTX.O> showed promise and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.

A series of business surveys released earlier showed broad improvements in manufacturing across Europe and Asia as economies opened up, with IHS Markit’s final euro zone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) moving closer to the 50-mark separating growth from contraction in June.

Improving economic data out

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European stocks surge as cyclicals rally, U.S. jobs data awaited

By 4 months ago

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – European shares climbed on Thursday as encouraging economic data from across the globe and hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine lifted sentiment ahead of the crucial U.S. jobs data.

The pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> rose 1.2% to mark its fourth consecutive day of gains. Banks <.SX7P>, automakers <.SXAP> and travel & leisure <.SXTP> firms were the top gainers, jumping between 2.7% and 3.4%.

Financial markets entered the second half of the year on a cheerful note earlier this week, as business surveys showed a coronavirus-induced slump in global manufacturing eased in June.

Adding to optimism, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by German biotech firm BioNTech <BNTX.O> and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer <PFE.N> was found to be well-tolerated in early stage human trials.

All eyes are on the U.S. payrolls data, due at 1230 pm GMT. Economists have estimated that job numbers rose by 3 million in June,

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