LONDON – European stocks opened Tuesday in mixed territory, with investors focused on an emerging battle between vaccine maker AstraZeneca and the EU, and political uncertainty in Italy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell fractionally above the flat line during early business, with chemicals adding 1.1%, while travel and leisure stocks fell 0.9%.
The actions of British-Swedish pharmacist AstraZeneca will be seen up close on Tuesday after the EU accused it of not doing enough to resolve a dispute over how many doses it could supply the EU. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency, but is expected to be imminent. AstraZeneca said last week that it faces production issues.
In other news about the coronavirus, Moderna said Monday that work is accelerating on a Covid-19 booster shot for the newly discovered variant in South Africa. The firm’s researchers said its current coronavirus vaccine appears to work against the two highly transmissible strains found in the UK and South Africa.
Italian actions will be seen up close on Tuesday as a new political crisis emerges. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is expected to resign on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in the morning and will try to lead a new term. The move comes after weeks of tensions between Conte and Matteo Renzi, the head of a junior coalition party in government.
Elsewhere, U.S. stock futures fell slightly Monday evening as Wall Street prepared for the heart of corporate profit seasons; General Electric, Verizon and Johnson & Johnson will present the results before the bell, while tech giant Microsoft will announce its second-quarter tax gains after the bell. In Asia-Pacific, stocks fell in Tuesday morning trading.
Earnings come from LVMH, Novartis and UBS on Tuesday. Data releases include UK employment figures for November.