U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as optimism around an economic rebound next year outweighed concerns around an expected surge in coronavirus infections during the Thanksgiving holiday. Wall Street’s main indexes have gained more than 10% this month as investors bet on a sooner-than-expected COVID-19 vaccine and calmer global trade under President-elect Joe Biden, setting the S&P 500 for its best November ever. A rotation into sectors such as industrials and financials, deemed to benefit from an economic recovery, has also powered the Dow to record highs and ...

European shares edged lower on Friday as investors exercised caution ahead of a barrage of economic data due later in the day, while doubts about the effectiveness of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine also hit sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1%, with travel and energy sectors among the biggest decliners in early trading. The benchmark index was, however, on course for a fourth consecutive weekly gain. Shares of British drugmaker AstraZeneca dropped 0.6% as questions were raised about the results of its late-stage vaccine study, potentially hindering chances of the shot ...

European shares were mixed on Thursday and world shares held near all-time highs after a strong Asian session in which market euphoria around COVID-19 vaccines, Joe Biden’s U.S. presidential election win and hopes for further stimulus outweighed worsening U.S. data. World shares are having their best month on record this November, boosted by a slew of positive vaccine announcements and hopes that Biden’s administration will deliver more economic stimulus and political stability. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, hit an all-time high on Wednesday and ...

Global shares reached record highs on Wednesday after the Dow Jones broke 30,000, with investors relieved at the prospect of a smooth handover of power after the U.S. presidential election and confident a COVID-19 vaccine would soon be ready. President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday introduced his foreign policy and national security team after President Donald Trump cleared the way to prepare for the start of his administration. Reports that Biden planned to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, potentially easing the passage of a fiscal stimulus ...

Stocks, oil and risk currencies gained on Tuesday as the formal go-ahead for U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to begin his transition burnished a November already boosted by COVID-19 vaccines. European markets tracked gains in Asian and U.S. equities, with the broad-based STOXX 600 index opening 0.8% higher [.EU] and Brent crude climbing to its highest level since March at $46.38 a barrel. [O/R] Safe haven assets such as gold fell. After weeks of legal challenges to the election results, U.S. General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy wrote to Biden on ...

Shares and oil prices rose on Monday while the dollar fell as investors pinned hopes for economic revival on coronavirus vaccines, even as the world contended with surging case numbers and delays to fresh U.S. stimulus. The STOXX index of Europe’s 600 largest shares rose 0.5% to its highest since February after AstraZeneca become the latest major drugmaker to say its vaccine for the virus could be around 90% effective. Brent crude futures rose nearly 2% as traders eyed a recovery in crude demand due to the successful vaccine trials, ...

World stocks edged higher Friday as hopes of economic recovery ahead helped offset the blow dealt by news that the U.S. Treasury was ending emergency loan programmes. But gains were modest as flare-ups in virus cases around the world continued to dampen sentiment. California announced fresh curfews to try to fight surging coronavirus infections, while Japan is facing a third wave of the virus, and parts of Europe are already under recently renewed social restrictions. Europe’s STOXX 600 edged 0.3% higher in early trading, while the global stocks index .MIWD00000PUS ...

European stocks fell on Thursday following sharp losses on Wall Street as investors feared another round of shutdowns due to soaring coronavirus cases in the United States. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.9% in morning session, with growth-sensitive oil and gas, banking, mining and travel sectors falling the most. The sectors have rallied strongly in November, helped by encouraging news on COVID-19 vaccine that pushed the STOXX 600 to eight-month highs this week. Defensive healthcare and utilities posted small losses. U.S. stocks came off all-time highs as the death ...

Investors are in “full bull” mode, deploying more money into emerging markets, small-cap stocks and the banking sector on hopes a COVID-19 vaccine will turn around these hard-hit market segments, BofA’s monthly investor survey showed. Global stocks hit a new record high on Monday as positive data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine came from Moderna, following similarly upbeat data from rival Pfizer. Investors surveyed by BofA expect a “credible vaccine” by January. The euphoria sent investors’ cash levels down to 4.1% in November, from 4.4% last month, to pre-COVID-19 levels ...

World stock markets grabbed a well-earned breather on Tuesday after a second major coronavirus vaccine boost in the space of a week had propelled them higher again and put Europe on course for its best month in nearly three decades. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.2% in early moves but there was little sign of an end to the November bull run that has also seen confidence-sensitive commodities and emerging markets surge. MSCI’s main 49-country world stocks index was perched at a record high having risen 11% and all but ...

Global stocks eyed a fresh record high on Monday as signs of economic recovery in Asia, recent strong corporate earnings and hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine bolstered investor sentiment. The MSCI World Index of global shares rose 0.5% to 608.79 points, just shy of the record high hit briefly earlier in the month, helped by strong overnight gains in Asia’s leading markets and a stronger open for most European bourses. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since launching in 1987 as Japan pulled out ...

European shares edged lower on Friday as surging coronavirus cases compounded fears of the damage to the bloc’s economy in the coming winter months, although the benchmark index was still on track for its second straight week of gains. The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was down 0.3% after jumping earlier this week on optimism around a working COVID-19 vaccine. The index has gained about 12% in the past two weeks, also buoyed by hopes of calmer global trade under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden. “For all the optimism about a successful ...

European shares retreated from eight-month highs on Thursday as surging coronavirus infections raised doubts about a quicker economic rebound and overshadowed several upbeat quarterly earnings reports. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down 0.6%, taking some shine off gains of more than 13% this month that had set it on course for its best monthly performance ever. The banking index .SX7P led sectoral declines following its best three-day winning streak since the global financial crisis in 2009, while travel stocks .SXTP fell 0.7% after surging earlier in the week ...

Stocks gained and bonds dropped on Wednesday as news of a working COVID-19 vaccine outweighed worries over surging infections, fuelling rotation towards cut-price losers from the coronavirus pandemic such as travel stocks. The broad Euro STOXX 600 climbed 0.4%, adding to a 5% rally this week and adding to 0.1% gains for Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. Wall Street futures gauges also climbed, with S&P 500 futures up 0.3%. Much of the action was switching between stocks as investors sold coronavirus winners to buy beaten-down equities. Travel-related stocks gained 1.1%, while ...

European shares jumped on Monday as a victory for Democrat Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election raised hopes of better trade ties between Washington and Europe, while chipmaker Infineon rose on a strong revenue forecast. The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 1.3% by 0805 GMT, with trade-reliant German shares .GDAXI adding 1.6% as data also showed exports in Europe’s largest economy rose more than expected in September. Japan’s Nikkei share average hit a 29-year high, while futures tracking the U.S. S&P 500 index EScv1 jumped 1.4% as investors ...