Equity markets rebound on EU optimism; gold edges higher – Gulf Today

Equity markets rebound on EU optimism; gold edges higher – Gulf Today

Equity markets rebound on EU optimism; gold edges higher

4 hours ago

A man walks past a bank's board showing the share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday. Associated Press

Global equity markets rebounded on Monday on optimism the European Union would agree on a recovery fund to help revive regional economies hit by the coronavirus, but worries about the pandemic's economic and human toll pushed gold prices higher.

The euro rose after a bout of profit-taking on early gains that took the single currency to a 19-week high on hopes for an EU fund expected to be around 750 billion euros ($857.93 billion).

European shares advanced on hopes for the recovery fund, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose, led by technology stocks.

News that AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers helped lift equities, but it was still too early to call the drug a success.

MSCI's benchmark for global equity markets rose 0.49%. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.28%, the S&P 500 gained 0.27% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.35%.

In Europe, the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.73%. AstraZeneca's shares rose 1.8% after hitting a