European shares steady, Asian shares advance on hope for US stimulus

Gulf Today Report

European shares steadied on Thursday as investors remain optimistic for US stimulus and hope for COVID-19 vaccine heightens. 

Germany's DAX climbed 1% to hit its highest since February, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%, both extending gains to a fourth straight session.

France and Germany are set to start vaccinating their residents by ending of the month. 

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA Europe said: "the vaccines are underpinning this entire rally and without the vaccines, I don't think we'll be doing as well as we are." 

Monetary stimulus has pushed the STOXX 600 to almost pre-pandemic levels but it is still below 8%. 

London's FTSE 100 gained by 0.3% while investors await the outcome of the Bank of England meeting. The banks it’s expected to maintain its policy as investors await trade ahead of Brexit. 

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Asian Shares

Asian shares gained on Thursday as investors remain optimistic for the US congress to deliver stimulus. 

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but fell in South Korea.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged 0.1% higher to 26,485.44 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo also inched up 0.1%, to 26,790.88. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.8% to 6,735.10 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.6% to 3,388.24. 

South Korea's Kospi lost 0.5% to 2,758.53. Shares also fell in Singapore and Taiwan but rose in other regional markets. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 3,701.17 on Wednesday, about 1 point off its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 30,154.54 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% to 12,658.19, setting a record for the second straight day.