European shares up for fourth session on stimulus optimism

  • Germany and France said they were set to begin inoculating their citizens with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in the last week of December, once it is approved by the European Medicines Agency.
17 Dec, 2020

European shares remained at 10-month highs on Thursday, as hopes of more stimulus in the United States and potential COVID-19 vaccine rollouts in Europe strengthened the case for a global economic recovery.

Germany's DAX climbed 1.1% to hit its highest since February, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6%, both extending gains to a fourth straight session.

Germany and France said they were set to begin inoculating their citizens with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in the last week of December, once it is approved by the European Medicines Agency.

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% with eyes on a Bank of England meeting later in the day. The central bank is expected to keep its policy unchanged, awaiting the fate of a Brexit trade deal.

Shares of WPP Plc jumped 3.7% as the world's biggest advertising firm said it expects to return to its 2019 level of net sales by 2022.

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