European, Asian shares gain on hope for a vaccine

Gulf Today Report

European shares advanced on Monday as news of coronavirus vaccine development uplift hope for a faster economic recovery. 

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% by 09:45 GMT and hit a fresh high since late February, with energy and banking sectors leading gains.

The injection of stimulus into the economy has boosted the benchmark index by 40% from its March lows. However, the markets are not doing as well as expected due to surge in coronavirus cases. 

AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford announced a 90% effective COVID-19 vaccine, under one dosing regimen. 

According to a survey, activities at eurozone declined in November due to fresh restrictions imposed across Europe. 

READ MORE 

Gold advance as optimism for stimulus increase

Oil prices advance on the prospect of COVID-19 vaccine

Fed stimulus news, virus concerns darken mood of global investors

Asian Shares

Asian shares gained on Monday as investors look towards coronavirus vaccine to aid in recovering the economy, despite the increase in cases. 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.71% on Monday, pushing past a previous record high touched on Friday.

Seoul's Kospi was 1.83% higher as an optimistic earnings outlook for South Korean chip giants drove gains.

Japanese markets were closed for a holiday, but Nikkei futures added 0.27% to 25,815.

Investors hope was boosted by an announcement from a US government official about the vaccine being available for healthcare workers by mid-December.

The regional index also got a boost from Australian shares which gained 0.34% as the country eased some COVID-19 restrictions. Most of the country has seen no new community infections or deaths in several weeks.