European stock markets traded on Wednesday amid more positive news about vaccines in the region.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was trading at 0.2% by mid-morning. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.25% after the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was approved for emergency use in the UK
The announcement marks another step in the global fight against the pandemic and will allow the United Kingdom to significantly expand its Covid-19 immunization program, which began in December. To date, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been administered to 600,000 people in the UK, according to government statistics. Shares of AstraZeneca rose 0.7% on Wednesday.
European markets on Wednesday showed a weak trend in their global counterparts; Shares in Asia-Pacific traded higher overnight after major Wall Street indices broke their big gains for several days on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the dollar has weakened against other major currencies.
China’s GDP growth in 2019 has been revised down to 6.0%, according to a statement released Wednesday by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. This was compared to a growth rate in 2019 before the revision of 6.1%.
Meanwhile, futures on the US stock index changed slightly in overnight transactions on Tuesday as the market tried to recover record highs. Dow Jones industrial average contracts gained 36 points. The S&P 500 futures gained 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
The move came after big averages closed on Tuesday, giving up early gains that pushed stocks to record highs at the opening bell. Washington lawmakers continue to disagree on direct payments to Americans as part of a package of economic incentives amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s effort to speed up the bill, passed by the House late Monday, which will increase checks to $ 2,000 from $ 600. Incentive payments could disappear as early as Tuesday night, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
President Donald Trump backed higher payments and on Tuesday said in a tweet that the measure should be approved “AS MUCH AS MORE. $ 600 IS NOT ENOUGH!”
UK lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on whether to approve the post-Brexit trade deal reached by negotiators on Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on parliament to support the agreement.
There are no major revenues or dates on Wednesday.
– Eustance Huang and Pippa Stevens from CNBC contributed to this market report.