European markets were giddy on vaccine speculation this Wednesday, allowing for an aggressive open.
There were a few different reports you could point to. In the UK, Matt Hancock has said that the law could be changed to fast track a vaccine before Christmas, while in the US Dr Anthony Fauci said a similar thing, stating that if the ongoing clinical trials were overwhelmingly positive, then a vaccine could arrive earlier than expected. To compliment these claims, human trials of the Oxford vaccine have now begun in the US.
This was more than enough for investors – so much so, in fact, that it meant they could ignore the US saying it won’t join in with the global, WHO-backed effort to develop and distribute a vaccine.
Having sunk to 3-month lows on Tuesday thanks to pound-strength – or, rather, dollar weakness – the FTSE rebounded with a 100-point rise, pushing it across 5950.
There were a few extra factors aiding the UK index, mind. Firstly, cable is down 0.3%, after significantly pulling back from its 2020 highs overnight.
Then there was the small matter of UK house prices hitting record highs due to a combination of the easing of lockdown and the stamp duty holiday. This meant the FTSE’s housebuilders gave the index some extra juice – Berkeley Group (LON:BKGH) rose 3%, with Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) climbing 3.2%, Persimmon (LON:PSN) jumping 3.5% and Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) up 5.3%.
Elsewhere, the DAX added 170 points, crossing 13130 in the process, while the CAC rose 1.3%, leaving it mere points away from 5000.
Looking ahead to the Dow Jones and, after another night of Wall Street record highs it was excluded from, the index is set to continue its grind towards February’s record peak. The Dow is expected to jump 100 points when trading gets underway, pushing it to a fresh 6-month-plus high.
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