World Markets At Record Peak On New Covid-19 Vaccine Optimism

The latest boost has come from Moderna, which said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing the infection

LONDON

World stock markets took a hope on Tuesday after a second major coronavirus vaccine boost in the space of a week had propelled them higher again and put Europe on course for its best month nearly three decades.

The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.4% on the day with Wall Street set to follow, but there was little sign of an end to the November bull run that has also seen confidence-sensitive commodities and emerging markets surge.

MSCI’s main 49-country world stocks index was perched at a record high having risen 11% and every day but one this month, while China’s yuan hit a near 2-1/2 year peak in the currency markets as the US dollar continued to sag.

Investors are in “full bull” mode, BofA’s monthly investor survey showed on Tuesday.

With global economic growth and profit expectations running at a 20-year high among those the bank surveyed, the “reopening rotation” back into coronavirus-hit sectors is likely to continue for the rest of the year, BofA added, although they did also recommend cashing in in the coming weeks or months.

The latest boost had come from Moderna, which said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing infection based on interim late-stage data.