LONDON – European markets opened higher on Wednesday as investors hoped a Brexit trade deal could be reached amid concerns over the approval of a long-delayed stimulus package for the US coronavirus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5% during morning deals, with auto stocks surging 1.6% to lead earnings. Healthcare stocks have broken the trend and are down about 0.3%.
On Tuesday, Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for Brexit, said the bloc was making a “final push” to negotiate a Brexit trade deal with Britain, but disagreements remain over fishing rights. There are positive reports of the talks, with ITV’s Robert Peston claiming a deal could be reached on Wednesday.
Stateside suggested on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would not sign the $ 900 billion Covid bill passed by Congress earlier this week. Trump called the measure an inappropriate “disgrace” and urged lawmakers to make a number of changes, including increased direct payments to individuals and families.
In Asia, stocks were higher despite Trump’s remarks. MSCI’s widest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.6%.
On Wall Street, stock futures continued to change little in overnight trading, largely recovering from past declines after Trump raised concerns about Covid’s new aid package.
Back in Europe, France reopened its border with England on Wednesday, requiring passengers arriving at the border to have a negative coronavirus test result. It comes after France banned people and cargo coming from the UK out of concern over the seemingly fast-spreading Covid species first identified in South East England.
Concerns about the economic impact of Britain’s harsh new lockdown measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus strain, as well as ongoing Brexit uncertainty, have weighed on investor sentiment of late.
Travel and leisure stocks got a boost from the news that France had lifted its travel restrictions on Wednesday. British Airways’ parent company IAG rose 3% to lead the industry.
Looking at individual stocks, Daimler rose 3% to the top of the Stoxx 600 following a message from Handelsblatt that the German automaker plans to list its trucking business.
In the European benchmark, Games Workshop was down almost 2%, while meal kit supplier HelloFresh was down nearly 3%.