Global markets rise before US earnings season

LONDON: World stock markets advanced Monday, spurred higher by investor hopes over upcoming US earnings and a coronavirus vaccine, dealers said.

Asian and European equities bounded higher as investors followed a strong performance on Wall Street, though a spike in COVID-19 infections capped gains.

Oil prices fell on festering fears over demand-destroying coronavirus, and before this week's expanded OPEC+ technical gathering of key crude producers which are expected to curb production cuts.

The dollar traded mixed.

Equity traders are now looking to the corporate earnings season, which will reveal how companies fared during the second quarter -- when economy-sapping lockdowns were imposed around the world.

"The mood remains upbeat as the new week kicks off and US earning season moves into focus," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.

"Given that in April and some of May, the US was in full-scale lock down, second-quarter results bore the brunt of the coronavirus crisis.

"JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are first to set the scene, with Goldman Sachs, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson helping to give further insights as to the coronavirus impact later in the week."

Investors also welcomed comments on Friday from the head of German biotech firm BioNTech who said a vaccine candidate would be ready for regulatory review by the end of the year, while Gilead Sciences said its drug remdesivir had been relatively effective in clinical trials.

"There was a sense of optimism circulating on the back of hopes for a treatment for coronavirus," noted CMC Markets analyst David Madden.

London stocks won 0.9 percent in late Monday morning deals while Frankfurt won one percent and Paris gained 0.8 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo led the gains, adding more than two percent, while Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei were all more than one percent higher.

Hong Kong added 0.2 percent but bigger gains were pared on concerns about a fresh spike in infections in the city.

Trillions of dollars in government support is also keeping global equities well supported, but confidence is being strangled by the spread of the disease, with an explosion of cases forcing some countries to reimpose containment measures just weeks after easing lockdowns.

Back in Paris, Ubisoft shares dived nine percent Monday after the gaming company revealed over the weekend that its second most powerful executive was among senior staff to have left the firm as it pursues an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations.

Last month the French company, one of the world's largest video game publishers whose portfolio includes Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, launched a probe after allegations of sexual misconduct were shared online.

Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer and the company's second-in-command, has now resigned along with human resources director Cecile Cornet, Ubisoft said.

Key figures around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.9 percent at 6,152.48

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.0 percent at 12,753.55

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 5,010.94

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.0 percent at 3,327.59

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.2 percent at 22,784.74 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.2 percent at 25,772.12 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.8 percent at 3,443.29 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 26,075.30 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $39.91 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $42.70 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1308 from $1.1300 at 2100 GMT

Dollar/yen: UP at 107.08 yen from 106.93 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2604 from $1.2622

Euro/pound: UP at 89.74 pence from 89.53 pence