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Tourists stroll in downtown Rovinj, on the Istrian peninsula in the Adriatic Sea, on July 4, 2020.
Denis Lovrovic/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
European stocks rose on Wednesday, with U.S. equity futures also climbing, as investors embraced positive news surrounding a coronavirus vaccine candidate.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index FXXP00, +0.87% rose 0.8% on the heels of a 0.8% loss on Tuesday. The index is barely positive for the week. Elsewhere, the German DAX DAX, +0.68% gained 0.8% and the French CAC PX1, +0.89% rose 0.9%. The FTSE 100 UKX, +0.82% was up 0.8%.
After the close of U.S. markets on Tuesday, biotech group Moderna MRNA, +4.54% said its coronavirus vaccine candidate produced a “robust” immune-system response in a larger group of people and the study will move to a decisive clinical trial in July.
“Although a mismatch between financial markets and the real economy remains in full effect, the removal of a single recessionary input (the virus) via a vaccine can pave the way for fast economic recovery,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.
“So, the positive news on the virus vaccine can go a long way to explain the dissonance between the shift in the stock market sentiment relative to the angst on Main street,” Innes added, in a note to clients.
Optimism seen spreading to Wall Street later, with Dow futures YM00, +0.86% up 241 points, S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.62% rising 0.7% and Nasdaq-100 futures QMI, -3.86% up 0.4%. U.S. stocks closed near session highs on Tuesday, boosted by a call from Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard for the bank to carry out sustained large-scale sset purchases to help the economy rebound amid a “thick fog of uncertainty” caused by COVID-19.
Stocks in Asia fell, with the CSI 300 000300, -1.29% down 1.2% amid concerns over U.S.-China tension. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he signed a China sanctions bill targeting Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong,
Goldman Sachs GS, +2.45% and UnitedHealth UNH, +2.94% will report earnings on Wednesday, while Europe also got a handful of corporate updates.
Shares of heavily weighted ASML Holding NV ASML, -0.72% fell 0.9% after the chip maker reported a sharp gain in second-quarter profit, driven by higher sales, but the latter fell short of analyst expectations. The company said its growth outlook for 2020 remains unchanged relative to the start of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Burberry Group PLC BRBY, -4.65% was the biggest decliner on the Stoxx 600, down 5% after the British fashion label reported a 45% drop in first-quarter sales, with sales in the second quarter expected to fall by 15% to 20% .
Shares of Atlantia surged 20% after the Italian holding company’s motorway operator Autostrade per l’Italia reportedly made an last-attempt offer to save its license, under threat of being stripped by the government after the 2018 collapse of a bridge in Genoa.
Citing sources, Reuters reported that Autostrade’s offer would consist of state lender Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) taking a stake of 51% in Autostrade via a capital increase. Atlantia would eventually surrender ownership of Autostrade.
