European equities rose on Monday, with investors receiving news that President Donald Trump had stepped back from a veto threat and signed a $ 900 billion pandemic relief bill, and applauded the post-trade deal -Brexit from last week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP index,
gained 0.7% to 398.63, while the German DAX DAX,
jumped 1.4%. The French CAC 40 PX1,
rose 1%, and the FTSE MIB Italy I945,
index gained 0.6%
The FTSE 100 UKX index,
was closed for an extended holiday, but the GBPUSD pound sterling,
rose 1.2% to $ 1.3512 in relief over a historic Christmas Eve deal to define the UK and EU trade relationship. Commercial conditions were weaker than normal due to the holiday in Britain.
The trade agreement, which comes into effect on January 1, covers trade worth £ 668 billion ($ 905 billion) in 2019 and guarantees tariff-free trade for most products, said the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Kingdom, Boris Johnson, who praised the deal. with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
“The signing of the Brexit trade agreement [brought] a huge sigh of relief for the financial markets, which have spent the past few months buying sterling in anticipation of the outcome, ”said Jeffrey Halley, senior Asia-Pacific market analyst at OANDA, in a note to customers.
The main envoys in Brussels gave the green light to the agreement on Monday, giving it provisional approval.
Halley said the pound will likely reach $ 1.3800 in the coming weeks, but markets are likely to “wait until next week before buying again, for fear of huge bottlenecks in the English Channel when the new rules go into effect” .
US stock DJIA,
SPX,
COMP,
traded higher at the beginning of Monday’s session, driven by the stimulus agreement. After hanging on for days while suddenly displaying complaints about the size of relief checks negotiated, Trump finally signed the huge bill at his private club in Florida on Sunday. In a statement, he said Congress would vote to lift individual payments from the current $ 600 to $ 2,000.
House Democrats tried to do just that last week, but were blocked by Republicans, who separated from Trump in the package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would take another vote on Monday.
Read: ‘More help is on the way’: The long wait is over for the second stimulus check, but is $ 600 enough?
The “possibility of increasing direct payments above US $ 600 should be a positive factor for the market, in addition to the momentum received with the signature of the president. With an eye on the Georgia Senate runoff on January 5, politicians on both sides may also feel a little more generous than they did a week ago, ”said Halley.
Drug makers were leading gains among European stocks on Monday, with shares in Novartis NVS,
NOVN,
up to 1.8% and Roche Holding ROG,
up to 0.7%. In Germany, the shares of Bayer BAYN,
rose 2%.
Europe started its COVID-19 vaccination program over the weekend, using the vaccine developed by BioNTech BNTX in Germany,
with American partner Pfizer PFE,
0Q1N,
AstraZeneca AZN,
AZN,
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said on Sunday that researchers believe the COVID-19 vaccine his company is developing with the University of Oxford will work against a new strain of the virus, causing an increase in infections in the UK. This vaccine is widely expected to get UK approval this week. AstraZeneca’s shares were modestly higher.
Commerzbank’s shares fell 0.8% after the German bank said it would record provisions of 610 million euros ($ 743.2 million) in the fourth quarter due to its restructuring program.
Adidas shares ADS,
rose 1%. The German sportswear maker said Monday that more than 60% of its products will be made from sustainable materials in 2021, in an attempt to expand its eco-clothing line.