European stocks traded slightly positive Wednesday amid continued hopes for robust economic recovery next year and as AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine received its first approval for emergency supply in the UK amid the massive vaccination drive across Europe.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, investors remain concerned following uncertainty about whether the U.S. Senate would approve a measure increasing the size of the stimulus checks to $2,000.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., President Donald Trump continued demanding $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, instead of $600, and the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the measure. However, in the Senate, the move was stalled as Republicans blocked a swift vote proposed by Democrats.<\/p>\n
The investor sentiment also reflects the fact that Britian’s automatic access to the EU’s financial markets<\/span> may come to an end on December 31 as the Brexit trade deal excludes any pact regarding financial market.<\/p>\n In Covid-19 news, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed by the University of Oxford, for emergency supply in the UK, with the first doses being released today. The vaccinations may begin early in the New Year.<\/p>\n Asian stocks ended mixed despite hopes of a robust economic recovery next year. China and Hong Kong shares traded higher, while Japanese and Australian shares closed lower.<\/p>\n In economic releases, UK house prices grew at a faster pace in December, data published by the Nationwide Building Society showed. House prices climbed 7.3 percent year-on-year in December, following November’s 6.5 percent increase.<\/p>\n As per flash data published by the statistical office INE, Spain’s consumer prices continued to decline at the end of 2020. Consumer prices decreased 0.5 percent year-on-year in December after easing 0.8 percent in November.<\/p>\n Further, Bulgaria’s producer prices declined 2.6 percent year-on-year in November, and Greece’s November producer prices fell 9 percent in November. <\/p>\n Austria’s producer prices dropped at a softer pace in November, down 1.4 percent year-on-year, figures from Statistics Austria showed.<\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 traded up 0.55 points or 0.1 percent at 402.16.<\/p>\n France’s CAC 40 index was up 2 points or 0.03 percent at 5613, following a 0.4 percent rise on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Germany’s benchmark DAX was up 5 points, or 0.04 percent, at 13767, after losing 0.2 percent in the previous day.<\/p>\n U.K.’s FTSE 100 increased 10 points or 0.2 percent at 6612, extending 1.6 percent rise in the previous day.<\/p>\n In U.K., AstraZeneca shares are trading 0.9 percent higher after its Covid-19 vaccine received emergency approval in the country.<\/p>\n Banking shares are gaining momentum, with HSBC Holdings up 1.7 percent; Lloyds Banking Group up 1.9 percent, Barclays up 2.4 percent; and Standard Chartered up 2 percent.<\/p>\n Among others, Rolls-Royce increased 1.6 percent and Carnival gained 1.8 percent. Losers included Diageo with shares down 1 percent, Rio Tinto down 0.6 percent, and Anglo American down 0.7 percent.<\/p>\n On German corporate front, Munich RE shares were up 0.6 percent; Allianz up 0.4 percent; Deutsche Bank up 1 percent; and Thyssenkrupp up 2 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, shares of\u00a0 auto majors fell slightly – Volkswagen declined 0.7 percent and BMW fell 0.6 percent. Wirecard stock was down 2.3 percent.<\/p>\n In France, Societe Generale gained 0.7 percent, while Airbus declined 1 percent. <\/p>\n