LONDON – European stocks closed higher on Tuesday as optimism about coronavirus vaccines appeared to outweigh concerns about new closures across the continent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.25%, while cars climbed 3% to lead earnings.
The first round of injections of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was given in the US on Monday, one week after the vaccinations started in the UK
Nevertheless, investors are closely monitoring measures to curb a sharp rise in the number of infections in Europe. Germany and the Netherlands announce stricter restrictions over Christmas.
On Monday, the UK government announced that London is moving to England’s highest level of Covid-19 restrictions. It mentioned increased infection rates possibly related in part to a new variant of the coronavirus that could be causing a rise in the number of cases in southern England.
Stocks traded higher on Wall Street as market sentiment was helped by the progress of the US stimulus talks and as Covid-19 vaccines began to be rolled out across the country.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio warned earlier Monday that the city could soon experience a “complete shutdown”.
In the Brexit news, the negotiations between the EU and the UK to reach a trade deal continued to weigh on investors.
There seemed to be a positive impetus to Monday’s talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, who said there was “movement” over bottlenecks.
In terms of individual share price, German automaker Volkswagen saw its stock gain 7.6% and rose to the top of the Stoxx 600 after CEO Herbert Diess gained unanimous support from the board following a power struggle with the company’s labor boss.
SoftwareONE in Switzerland climbed 6.7% after expanding its leadership team.
Umicore shares rose 6.6% after the Belgian materials technology company improved its outlook.
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– CNBC.com employees contributed to this report.