Global Stock Markets Climb on Bright Data & Vaccine Hopes

London, Nov 16 (AFP/APP): World stock markets rallied Monday, as bright economic data further boosted investor sentiment following last week’s breakthrough coronavirus vaccine news. Equities also bounded higher after US President-elect Joe Biden’s team pledged not to impose an economically damaging nationwide lockdown to contain the virus, which has now infected more than 11 million Americans.

In addition, traders cheered the signing of the world’s biggest free-trade deal by 15 Asia-Pacific countries — including Japan and China — that covers about a third of the world’s GDP.

“Global stocks have received further tailwind on Monday, buoyed by investor confidence in economic recovery and building on the initial burst early last week on the vaccine announcement,” said Sun Global Investments head Mihir Kapadia. “The recent growth points towards the fact that Asia is now well and truly on the path to recovery, with China in particular, showing great resilience as Beijing revealed its factory output had risen faster than expected. This has set Europe higher too.”

Europe’s main stock markets kicked off the week on a positive note, with London up 0.7 percent in late morning deals, while Frankfurt added 0.5 percent and Paris rose 1.1 percent. The dollar dipped against the euro and yen, while oil prices rebounded strongly to extend last week’s vaccine-inspired gains. “European bourses head out of the blocks on the front foot as vaccine optimism and encouraging data from China and Japan overshadow concerns over rising Covid-19 cases,” agreed City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.

In Asia, Tokyo led the gains, jumping more than two percent on news that the world’s number three economy had surged out of recession in the third quarter, expanding a forecast-beating five percent thanks to a pick-up in domestic demand and exports. However, while there is growing expectation a treatment will be available in the new year, gains were nevertheless tempered by worries about a spike in the disease in the US and across Europe.

After a painful October, equities have enjoyed a huge bounce since Biden’s election win, which was followed by news that Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine candidate had proved 90 percent effective — lifting hopes the world can soon begin returning to normal. Monday’s market advances came after another strong performance on Wall Street last week, where the S&P 500 finished at a record high. All three main New York indexes were up in futures trading.

Over the weekend, fifteen Asia-Pacific countries on Sunday signed the world’s biggest free trade deal, seen as a huge coup for China in extending its influence. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes 10 Southeast Asian economies along with China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

However, China-US tensions were back on the radar after Axios reported that Donald Trump was considering a range of new tough measures against Beijing in the last few weeks of his presidency.

Key figures around 1130 GMT:

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 6,357.81 points
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.5 percent at 13,140.77
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.1 percent at 5,437.46 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,453.70
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.1 percent at 25,906.93 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.9 percent at 26,381.67 (close) Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,346.97 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 29,479.81 (close Friday)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1845 from $1.1834 at 2200 GMT
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3179 from $1.3189
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.53 yen from 104.63 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 89.88 pence from 89.73 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.0 percent at $40.92 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $43.51 per barrel