European stocks traded higher on Wednesday amid more positive news about vaccines in the region.
The Stoxx 600 pan-European index was trading up 0.2% mid-morning. London’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.25% after the coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca was authorized for emergency use in the UK
The announcement marks another step in the global battle against the pandemic and will allow the UK to significantly expand its Covid-19 immunization program started in December. So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been given to 600,000 people in the UK, according to government statistics. AstraZeneca’s shares were up 0.7% on Wednesday.
European markets are countering a lackluster trend seen in their global counterparts on Wednesday; Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in overnight trading after the main Wall Street indices broke their multi-day winning streak on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the dollar has weakened against other major currencies.
China’s GDP growth in 2019 was revised down to 6.0%, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the country’s National Statistics Office. This compared to a 2019 pre-revision growth rate of 6.1%.
Meanwhile, US stock index futures have changed little in Tuesday morning trading, with the market trying to recover record highs. Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36 points. The S&P 500 futures gained 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
The move came after the main averages closed lower on Tuesday, giving up initial gains that pushed stocks to record highs at the opening bell. Lawmakers in Washington continue to disagree about direct payments to Americans who are part of an economic stimulus package amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked the effort by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to speed up the House-approved bill on Monday night that would increase checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000 . Stimulus payments may go out on Tuesday night, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
President Donald Trump supported higher payments and, on Tuesday, said in a tweet that the change should be approved “ASAP. $ 600 IS NOT ENOUGH!”
UK lawmakers are expected to vote on Wednesday if they approve the post-Brexit trade deal reached by negotiators on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked parliament to support the deal.
There are no major gains or data releases on Wednesday.
– Eustance Huang and Pippa Stevens from CNBC contributed to this market report.