Vaccine hopes boost world share markets
by Reuters
By Dhara Ranasinghe
LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks rallied on Monday on hopes for a coronavirus vaccine after AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) resumed its phase-3 trial, but caution lingered before a host of central bank meetings this week.
Sterling, which has been hit by renewed Brexit turmoil, was on firmer ground before a vote on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to break international law by breaching parts of the Brexit divorce treaty with the European Union.
European stock markets opened broadly higher (STOXX) and U.S. stock futures rallied more than 1% (ESc1) (1YMc1) -- suggesting a strong start for Wall Street later on.
In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.9% to its highest in almost a week. Japan's Nikkei (N225) firmed 0.7% after Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a landslide victory in a ruling party leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca (L:AZN) said at the weekend it has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs.
The news provided a boost to sentiment in world share markets, hit last week by a selloff in U.S. tech stocks.
"The news over the weekend that AstraZeneca clinical trials had resumed is likely to be well received, however it is unlikely to assuage concerns that the speed with which these trials are being done could result in a vaccine being rushed out too hastily, with unforeseen circumstances," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp (O:NVDA) said it would buy UK-based chip designer Arm from Japan's SoftBank Group (T:9984) for as much as $40 billion in a deal set to reshape the global semiconductor landscape, spurring a 1% gain in Europe's tech sector. (SX8P)
Friday marked six months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11.
Since then, major global economies have slipped into recession and millions have lost their jobs, prompting central banks around the world to launch unprecedented stimulus.
The U.S. Federal Reserve this week holds a two-day policy meeting and is expected to hold rates while elaborating on an earlier announcement of a shift to inflation targeting. The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England will announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.
BREXIT WATCH
Major currencies were stable on Monday, with the British pound holding above 1-1/2 month lows against the dollar ahead of a parliamentary debate on the Internal Market Bill. After the debate, lawmakers will vote to decide if it should go to the next stage.
Johnson's decision to explicitly break international law has plunged Brexit back into crisis less than four months before Britain is finally due to leave the EU's orbit at the end of a post-Brexit transition period.
"The question will be how many Conservative MPs (members of parliament) rebel on the matter," said Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) strategist Jim Reid, referring to Johnson's ruling party.
The dollar was a tad weaker at 106 yen, though still a long distance from its low this year of 101.2. The euro (EUR=) was a touch firmer at $1.1857.
In commodities, U.S. crude (CLc1) jumped 0.6% to $37.55 a barrel. Brent crude (LCOc1) climbed 0.4% to $40 per barrel.
Gold was firm, with spot prices at $1,946.9 per ounce.
Elsewhere, Turkey's currency and dollar-bonds came under pressure after Moody's (NYSE:MCO) cut the country's sovereign rating and warned of the risk of a balance of payment crisis. The lira weakened 0.2% , flirting with fresh record lows last week.