Vaccine hopes, global M&A boost European stocks
European stocks kicked off the week on a positive note, as hopes of a coronavirus vaccine and a flurry of global M&A activity overshadowed worries about a disorderly Brexit. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% by 0711 GMT on Monday, hitting its highest level in over a week, while the German and French indexes clocked similar gains.
European stocks kicked off the week on a positive note, as hopes of a coronavirus vaccine and a flurry of global M&A activity overshadowed worries about a disorderly Brexit.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% by 0711 GMT on Monday, hitting its highest level in over a week, while the German and French indexes clocked similar gains. News over the weekend that AstraZeneca had resumed clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine after being suspended last week sparked a wave of buying across global stocks. The British drugmaker's shares rose 0.5%.
Meanwhile, U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp said it would buy UK-based chip designer Arm from Japan's SoftBank Group for as much as $40 billion in a deal set to reshape the global semiconductor landscape, spurring a 1% gain in Europe's tech sector. Frankfurt-listed shares of Immunomedics shot up 109.7% on news Gilead Sciences will acquire the U.S. biopharmaceutical company for $21 billion.
However, adding to fears of a messy departure for Britain from the European Union, car industries from both sides warned that failure to secure a free trade agreement would cost the sector 110 billion euros ($130 billion) in lost trade over the next five years.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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