LONDON – European equities advanced on Wednesday, following a positive trend on Wall Street on Tuesday and in the Asia-Pacific markets overnight.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.9% in early business, with cars adding 2% to gain advantages as all sectors and major countries entered positive territory.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that there had been progress in talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK and that the next few days would be “decisive”, providing a boost for actions at the beginning of the session. The pound sterling and the euro jumped above observations, reaching $ 1.35 and $ 1.22 respectively.
The positive trend had been set for European markets after Wall Street gains on Tuesday, which maintained a negative trend in recent sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 340 points, helped by a 5% jump in Apple shares, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3%, achieving a four-day losing streak.
Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher in trading on Wednesday after a nightly rebound on Wall Street as optimism grew at the prospect of more stimulus in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday invited congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to discuss government funding and the relief package. McConnell later told reporters leaving the Capitol that “significant progress” was being made, according to NBC News.
U.S. stock futures remained flat in early morning trading as investors clung to the possibility of new fiscal stimulus before the end of the year. State investors will also be awaiting comments from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday about the future of the U.S. economy.
While the Fed’s long-term vision is expected to improve due to the vaccine, the central bank is expected to sound very obvious at the end of the meeting.
Back in Europe, rising coronavirus cases are also a key focus for investors in several major economies, including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, who are changing Christmas plans to ease restrictions to curb a sharp rise in cases. .
On Wednesday, Germany begins the Christmas closing in which non-essential schools and shops are to close. The UK is also reconsidering plans to relax the rules to allow families to get together during the holiday season following the most notable criticism of the measure.
Business activity in the euro area was better than expected in December, but still slowed, according to a preliminary data release on Wednesday. The composite reading of the composite production PMI (index of purchasing managers) of the euro area, which analyzes the activity in both the manufacturing and services sectors, reached 49.8 in December, compared to 45 , November 3rd. However, a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in business activity.
In terms of individual stock price movement, telecommunications and cable group Altice Europe soared more than 23% in early business after Next Europe increased its bid to buy the company.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, shares of Belgian pharmaceutical company Galapagos fell more than 13% after US partner Gilead chose not to seek approval for a drug against rheumatoid arthritis, according to Reuters.
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