English
Pollen hopes raise European stocks; And all eyes are on the Brexit talks
European stocks kicked off the month on a positive note on Tuesday, following unprecedented gains in November, as confidence boosted the economic recovery in light of potential coronavirus vaccines.
Pfizer and Biontech raised hopes of an imminent end to the pandemic by requesting an urgent approval from European regulators on their vaccine, in a close race with Moderna, which announced that it would request the recommendation for conditional approval to use its vaccine.
And after a day of declining investors selling to take profits, the pan-European STOXX 600 index resumed its rise, increasing 0.7 percent. The index ended November a gain of nearly 14 percent.
Tuesday's gains included various sectors, especially basic materials, after strong data for Chinese factories supported copper and iron prices. However, the performance of relatively safe sectors such as healthcare and utilities was not strong.
After its best month in more than 30 years, the London-based FTSE 100 index rose 1.9 percent in its strongest daily performance in three weeks, supported by data showing improved confidence and British factory activity growing at the fastest rate in three years.
