Officials in the US are hopeful that they can begin offering virus vaccines within weeks, raising hopes of a return to normal life in 2021. ©AFP/File CHANDAN KHANNA

 

London (AFP) – Most global equities indices rose Monday following fresh Covid vaccine results, while investors also digested glum economic data that could herald another virus-driven downturn, dealers said.

British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said their jointly-developed vaccine has shown an average 70-percent effectiveness in trials involving 23,000 people.

The results ranged between 62 and 90 percent efficacy depending on the vaccine dosage.

The announcement came after other trials of drugs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna announced effectiveness above 90 percent.

In afternoon London trading, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down by 0.3 percent, while AstraZeneca’s share price had given up 2.7 percent to £80.80.

In the eurozone, market indices in Frankfurt and Paris had each added about 0.3 percent.

“The biggest benefits will be saved for tourism and hospitality,” Oanda analyst Craig Erlam forecast.

The British pound rebounded meanwhile on reports that Brussels and London were set to unveil a long-awaited post-Brexit trade deal.

“The results of AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine trial result failed to trigger a major rally in equities with the 70-percent efficacy result perhaps disappointing in comparison to the results from Pfizer and Moderna,” said AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould.

“In relative terms one can understand why AstraZeneca’s result only triggered a shrug of the shoulders from investors.”

Monday’s news came after Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech applied for emergency use authorisation for their drug, which could be rolled out next month.

Moderna is expected to make its own application soon.

The need for an inoculation has been underscored by soaring infection and death rates in the US and elsewhere as the northern hemisphere heads into winter, when viruses usually spread more.

Some US states have started imposing new restrictions, while European countries including England and France have returned to lockdowns.

Europe’s equity gains were dented also by a key survey showing that economic activity plunged in November on fresh lockdowns aimed at curbing the second wave of coronavirus — indicating a quick return to recession.

– Key figures around 1445 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,334.48

Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.3 percent at 13,173.21

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 5,512.78

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,476.38

New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 29,479.14

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.1 percent at 26,486.20 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,414.49 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1895 from $1.1857 at 2200 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3380 from $1.3275

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 103.75 yen from 103.86 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.90 pence from 89.32 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $42.84 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $45.61

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.