MILAN/FRANKFURT: European shares jumped to an eight-month high on Monday after drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech flagged strong progress in their Covid-19 vaccine, while Joe Biden's election victory raised hopes of a more stable US trade policy.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said the experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19, based on initial data from a large study.
The pan-European STOXX 600 jumped nearly 4% and clocked its best day since late March. Travel and leisure stocks, which have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, were among the best performing sectors, adding 7% to hit an eight-month high.
BioNTech's shares jumped more than 15%, while Germany's main stock index added 5%. The index was also boosted by positive trade data for September.
Optimism over a win on Saturday by Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the US election saw European stocks swiftly bouncing back, with the STOXX 600 trading about 11% higher in November so far.
But a resurgence in virus cases had hit markets hard last month, with the STOXX 600 losing more than 5% after the UK, Ireland and France all announced new nation-wide lockdowns.
The export-heavy FTSE 100 jumped 4.7%, while the British mid-cap index added 5.2%.
In company news, German chipmaker Infineon gained 3.5% as it forecast a nearly 23% jump in revenue in the year ahead.
British homebuilder Taylor Wimpey surged 18.6% after saying it was set to deliver annual results towards the upper end of expectations as the housing market recovered quicker than expected from a coronavirus-led slump.
Volumes for STOXX 600 were 2.8 times their 90-day daily average by 1706 GMT as investors stormed to equity markets to play the Biden win trade and a positive Covid-19 vaccine update from Pfizer.-Reuters
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