Despite the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine receiving emergency use authorisation in the UK, the markets were at a low ebb on Wednesday, unable to build on Tuesday’s month-opening gains.
One would be tempted to think that the FTSE fared best after the bell – falling just 0.1% – because of the UK becoming the first Western nation to approve a vaccine.
However, it is likely instead because the pound is down 0.4% against the dollar and half a percent against the euro, following reports that there is tension within the EU over the number of concessions Michel Barnier and his negotiating team are potentially giving away to the UK.
The deadline for a deal is now less than a month, and it is currently hard to gauge just how close an agreement actually is. The pound can expect a few more mornings like this one before the year is over.
In the Eurozone the losses were more pronounced. The DAX slipped towards 13,300 as it dropped 0.7%, while the CAC teetered on the edge of 5,560 after a 0.4% drop.
Failing to close above 30,000 yesterday evening, instead finishing at 29,823, the Dow Jones is set to retreat this afternoon, the futures pencilling in a 130 point fall. It may take FDA approval of the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccines to get the Dow to spend more than a few hours at a time the right side of 30,000.
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