Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher as markets shrug off Astrazeneca saga
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Wall Street rose to record highs this afternoon as tech stocks gained momentum ahead of a two-day policy meeting for the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 was up 0.27 per cent to an all-time high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.17 per cent, extending a rebound in stocks following last month’s sell-off.
The Dow Jones slipped 0.37 per cent after its six-day streak of record intraday highs ran out of steam. The index had been buoyed by the $1.7 trillion US stimulus package and vaccine optimism.
It followed on from gains for the FTSE 100, which ticked up as investors shrugged off concerns that the suspension of the Astrazeneca vaccine across 10 European countries may halt a swift economic recovery from the pandemic.
London’s blue-chip index gained just under 0.5 per cent by mid-afternoon, as it recovered ground from yesterday’s Covid-induced falls triggered by European scepticism of the Astrazeneca jab.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 was trading just over one per cent higher.
Investors shun jab worries
A swathe of EU countries including France, Italy and Germany have suspended rollout of the vaccine as they investigate potential side effects including blood clots.
The World Health Organisation and European Medicines Agency followed suit yesterday, insisting the jab is safe and effective across all age groups with no evidence of increased risk of blood clots in the UK where it has been given to the most people of any country in the world.
Astrazeneca shares gained 2.1 per cent as MPs across the board and the UK medicines regulator vowed their support for the Cambridge-based firm.
Barclays led the list of risers on the FTSE, adding 2.7 per cent at market open, followed by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Associated British Food.
However signs of residual nerves lingered on the index, with some investors concerned that the suspension of the Astrazeneca jab across a host of European countries could spark vaccine misinformation.
Natwest topped the list of fallers this morning after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it has lodged criminal proceedings against the bank for money laundering offences.
European stocks rose this morning as German online fashion retailer Zalando and carmaker Volkswagen jumped following upbeat earnings forecasts, while investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s views on a recent pick-up in inflation.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 per cent, crawling closer to a record peak set last year and tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street.
EU scepticism around the Astrazeneca vaccine was shrugged off by US markets last night which saw further record highs posted on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 indexes, which all hit new records for the third day in a row.