Global stocks take a hop on upbeat news about vaccines

Global stocks take a hop on upbeat news about vaccines

Global stocks take a hop on upbeat news about vaccines

2 hours ago

An electric car charges on a street recharging port in London on Wednesday. Britain says it will ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030. Associated Press

Global stock markets jumped on Wednesday after the release of more upbeat data about the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Traders have this month been encouraged by announcements of progress toward possible vaccines and on Wednesday Pfizer said that the one it is developing is even more effective than first announced.

The statement comes as the company is preparing within days to formally ask US regulators to allow emergency use of the vaccine.

Investors are weighing optimism about vaccines against news that the infection numbers in the United States and Europe are high and rising in many cases, posing a threat to businesses.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3% and 0.5%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3% to 6,374 and the DAX in Frankfurt gained 0.3% to 13,165. The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4% to 5,506.

On Tuesday, markets took a hit after new data