Vaccine hopes boosted shared, but entiment was still cautious ahead of a big week of central bank meetings in UK, Japan and the United States.
AstraZeneca announced it has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine at the weekend, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs.
This is one of the most advanced in development.
The late-stage trials of the experimental vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, were suspended last week after an illness in a study subject in Britain, casting doubts on an early rollout.
A vaccine has long been awaited to help pull the world out of a coronavirus-induced lockdown.
“The reopening of the global economy is enticing us to recommend a trade going long a basket of 14 laggard ‘back to work’ stocks versus a basket of 14 high-flying ‘COVID-19 winners’,” BCA Research wrote in a note.
“While we maintain a cyclical and secular bullish outlook on the broad market, a short-term correction due to technical and (geo) political reasons is likely on the cards,” it said
“A playable short-term pullback is in order.”
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9.15am update: European markets start strong
Like FTSE, European markets have started the day brightly.
Euronext 100 is up 0.70%, CAC 40 is up 0.77%, DAX is up 0.53% and Swiss Market Index is up 0.30%.
8.20am update: FTSE soars on open
FTSE has soared on open this morning, growing 70 points in just a matter of minutes.
The UK index closed at 6,043 on Friday afternoon, after a productive week during which it rose from 5,799.
This morning the index has continued its bright form, rising from 6,043 to 6,076.
More to follow…