LONDON – European stocks are expected to open higher on Thursday despite lingering concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and political turmoil in the United States
London’s FTSE is expected to open 15 points more to 6762, Germany’s DAX 59 points more to 14.009, France’s CAC 40 up 19 points to 5684 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 45 points. more to 22686, according to IG.
European markets appear poised to start the trading day on a positive note, despite the ongoing battle against an increase in coronavirus cases. Vaccination deployments across the continent, however, have raised hopes that the end of the pandemic is underway.
More positive news on the vaccine front emerged on Wednesday as the first trial data published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot Covid vaccine is safe and appears to generate an immune response in young and old volunteers.
U.S. political turmoil remains at the center of concern after House members voted to impeach President Donald Trump for the second time – making him the first U.S. president to be impeached twice – amid a bipartisan majority. accused of inciting a riot on the U.S. Capitol last week.
US equity futures rose on Wednesday night as traders kept tabs on interest rates and lingering unrest in Washington.
At the same time, Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in overnight trading as investors reacted regionally to China’s December trade data which showed the country’s exports rose 18.1% in December. compared to a year earlier, according to customs data released Thursday. This was higher than analysts’ expectations of a 15% increase in a Reuters poll.
Meanwhile, Chinese imports rose 6.5% year-on-year in December, compared to expectations of a 5% rise in a Reuters poll.
On the data front, Germany releases GDP data for the year 2020, and on the corporate front, Renault presents more details on their strategic overhaul, Geberit releases business update and UK retailers Tesco and Associated British Foods reveal their Christmas sales performance.
– CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk, Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Eustance Huang contributed to this market report.
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