It’s that time again. After the Dow Jones rose 557 points on Tuesday night, choosing to focus on bank earnings over covid-19 cases, the European markets got extra juiced up on the latest vaccine news.
This week the spinning wheel landed on Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), which reported that its covid-19 vaccine had produced a ‘robust’ immune response in all of the 45 patients in its early stage human trial.
Like with every vaccine update, the fact these are only baby steps when considering the time line of clearance, mass production and implementation didn’t stop investors buying into the optimism.
The FTSE, which bafflingly managed to end Tuesday in the green despite a pitiful GDP rebound in May and a barrage of upsetting forecasts from the OBR, climbed 1.1%, surging back past 6230.
The pound even got a bit of a lift following a marginally better than forecast inflation reading, which rose from 0.5% to 0.6% month-on-month due in part to lockdown purchases of video games (makes sense) and clothes (less so). This left cable up 0.3% to $1.2588, while against the euro sterling rose 0.2% to €1.1038.
Echoing the inflation news, ASOS (LON:ASOS) saw a 10% sales increase to just over £1 billion across the 4 months to June 30th, getting the jump on its bricks and mortar rivals thanks to its online infrastructure. Admittedly all of that growth came outside the UK; while its home base slipped 1%, sales in the EU surged 22%, in the US 3% and in the Rest of the World 19%. And though it struck a cautious note – and said it would be paying back the furlough support it had received from the government – that didn’t stop the stock rising 1.3%.
Elsewhere, the DAX found itself the right side of 12800 after a 1.2% increase, with the CAC climbing the same amount, hitting 5050 in the process.
As for the Dow Jones, the futures are suggesting a 200 point rise, pushing it towards 26850.
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