After tying up loose ends yesterday, the markets entered the final month of the year fresh-faced and ready to rally.
December is set see the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccines given emergency use authorisation in the UK, US and elsewhere, the rollout of which should be the first major step towards escaping the clutches of the pandemic.
Knowledge of this – including confirmation that the Moderna preparation is 94% after the final results were posted yesterday – appears to be helping the markets lift higher this Tuesday, recovering from Monday’s November-ending wobble.
Climbing 0.9%, the FTSE once again found itself at 6,350, a level it has repeatedly found itself returning to in the last few weeks. The challenge for the UK index this month will be sustainably rising past 6,400 and staying there, something it tried and failed to do multiple times in November.
The FTSE’s gains come alongside a sharp 0.5% increase for cable, which rose beyond $1.34 for the first time since early September thanks more to dollar weakness than anything else. Sterling did also add 0.1% against the euro, however, despite reports of an ‘impatient’ EU that will not fall into a Brexit ‘negotiating trap’.
Over in the Eurozone the DAX struck a 9-month-plus peak of 13,400 after jumping 0.7%, while the CAC stuck its nose above 5,560 following a 0.3% increase.
In a positive sign for Europe, the Dow Jones is aiming for a 320 point surge when trading gets started stateside, a move that would leave it around 20 points adrift of that magic 30,000 milestone. It is going to be real interesting to see whether investors can find enough justification against a violent covid-19 backdrop to allow the Dow to end the year significantly above that record level.
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