UK stocks jumped on Monday, when Britain became the first nation in the world to start launching the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Britain began distributing the low-cost, easily transportable jab on Monday morning. Brian Pinker, 82, became the first person in the world to receive the vaccine, according to Sky News.
The FTSE 100 (^ FTSE) and FTSE 250 (^ FTMC) more focused on the domestic market rose sharply, rising more than 1% in London. AstraZeneca (AZN.L) shares rose 2.3%.
“These gains can be linked to the launch of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK – the continuation of the great hope of 2021 to end the coronavirus pandemic,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx.
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In addition to the vaccine news, Monday marked the first business day of the post-Brexit era. The transition period for leaving the EU officially ended on 1 January 2021. The markets were closed because of a national holiday, making Monday (4 January) the first full day of trade and business as usual.
UBS issued an optimistic note on the outlook for UK stocks, now that Brexit has been resolved.
“Our target is 7,200 FTSE 100 by the end of 2021 and, given our optimistic view of the pound sterling, we would highlight an estimated total return in USD (including dividends) of around 21%,” wrote strategists Nick Nelson and João Toniato in a note published on Monday. “We see the UK’s relative valuations recovering from c.20-year casualties.”
The FTSE 100 rose 2.7% in the first trades, for only a shy 6,650 trading. The FTSE 250 with a more domestic focus grew by 1.4%.
The shares of Entain, owner of Ladbrokes (ENT.L) rose more than 20% in London after the company said it rejected a $ 11 billion takeover bid for MGM resorts.
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UK stock indexes outperformed rivals on the continent, although stocks have soared worldwide.
CAC 40 (^ FCHI) rose 1.6% in Paris, DAX (^ GDAXI) rose 1.1% in Frankfurt, IBEX (^ IBEX) rose 1.3% in Madrid and FTSE MIB (FTSEMIB.MI ) rose 0.7% in Madrid.
“It may be true that the worst is behind us and 2021 will be a much better year compared to 2020,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.
“However, it is important to keep in mind that the coronavirus situation is still getting out of control in the UK. The fact is that it will take some time to control the coronavirus situation ”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out another national block on Monday, during an interview with Sky News. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that tougher restrictions were likely to be needed to control the spread of COVID-19.
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Wall Street seemed prepared for a quieter opening. S&P 500 (ES = F) futures were up 0.6%, Dow futures (YM = F) were up 0.5% and Nasdaq futures (NQ = F) were up 0.6% more.
Shares rose sharply in Asia overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (^ HSI) and Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) gained 0.9%, the Shenzen component (399001.SZ) and South Korea’s KOSPI (^ KS11) jumped 2.5%, and ASX 200 (^ AXJO) was up 1.5% in Australia. Japan’s Nikkei (^ N225) fell behind, falling 0.7%.
Watch: First dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine given to UK patient