AstraZeneca Plc said its vaccine prevented most people from developing COVID-19
Rising new coronavirus cases sent Wall Street stocks lower on Friday, leading the Dow and S&P 500 to their first weekly declines in three weeks. Treasury Department’s decision to allow some emergency Federal Reserve programs added to local negative pressure in the markets. The S&P 500 lost 0.67%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.74%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.41%.
Asian equities were higher on Monday, with South Korea’s stocks hitting a record after AstraZeneca Plc said its vaccine prevented most people from developing COVID-19. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.08% while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.13%. The Kospi in Seoul jumped 1.92% and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.34%. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
In Europe, stocks opened higher to start the week amid encouraging developments around a coronavirus vaccine. The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.5%, hitting a fresh high since late February. In individual stocks, French bank Credit Agricole jumped 3.5% after its Italian unit launched an offer to buy Italian bank Credito Valtellinese. On the data front, the preliminary report from IHS/Markit showed that the flash German Manufacturing PMI eased to 57.9 in November versus 56.5 expected and 58.2 in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the dollar is back under pressure versus high-yielding counterparts as positive risk sentiment dominates the markets at the start of the week. Still, the EURUSD pair continues to struggle below the 1.1900 key barrier as the common currency lacks the bullish impetus to make a decisive breakout. According to the latest report, Eurozone November flash services PMI came in at 41.3 versus 42.0 expected. Weaker-than-expected data helped to cap the upside potential in the euro. As of writing, EURUSD was changing hands around 1.1875 and could retreat if the 1.1890 hurdle doesn’t give up in the near term.
