MILAN/FRANKFURT: European shares jumped on Monday as encouraging developments around a coronavirus vaccine spurred bets of a faster economic revival globally, even as a surge in infection rates clouded near-term outlook. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% by 0945 GMT and hit a fresh high since late February, with energy and banking sectors leading gains.
The benchmark index has gained nearly 40% from its March lows, helped by a flood of stimulus measures, but gains remain capped as investors weigh risks of rising Covid-19 infections against hopes of a vaccine supporting a recovery.
AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine, developed along with the University of Oxford, could be around 90% effective under one dosing regimen. The company's shares however slipped 2%, with traders attributing the drop to its vaccine showing lower efficacy than rivals such as Pfizer, which has reported the highest efficacy rate of 95% so far.
Regional stocks were also buoyed by hopes of a swifter economic recovery, after the British government said it was working with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ease Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas. That helped UK's FTSE 100 index gain 0.3%, along with hopes of a post Brexit-trade deal with the European Union.
Among individual stocks, French bank Credit Agricole jumped 3.9% after its Italian unit launched an offer to buy Italian bank Credito Valtellinese (Creval). Germany's HelloFresh fell 3% after the company said it bought Factor75, a US provider of fully prepared meals, for up to $277 million.
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