This post was originally published on this site
https://i-invdn-com.akamaized.net/news/LYNXNPEC0Q10J_M.jpg
Investing.com – European stock markets edged lower Wednesday, amid worries that the recent surge in coronavirus cases throughout the region will halt the nascent economic recovery even given the Covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs.
At 3:40 AM ET (0840 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.1%, while the U.K.’s FTSE index dropped 0.3%.
Sentiment has weakened as the week has progressed as investors returned to the basic concept that large sections of many economies throughout Europe remain closed as governments react to a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In corporate news, RSA Insurance (OTC:RSNAY) stock rose 3.9% after receiving a cash offer worth 7.2 billion pounds ($9.55 billion) from Canadian peer Intact Financial and Danish insurer Tryg.
Maersk (CSE:MAERSKb) stock fell 0.9% despite the shipping group launching a $1.6 billion share buyback after reporting third-quarter sales and operating profit in line with previous guidance.
Richemont (SIX:CFR) stock fell 1.6% after the Swiss luxury group said it plans to issue warrants as part of a shareholder loyalty scheme, following a cut to its dividend.
Equity markets had been given a boost Monday when Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing infection, adding to Pfizer’s promising trial data last week.
However, an effective coronavirus vaccine will not fundamentally change European Central Bank economic projections, as a medical solution was already factored into forecasts, ECB President Christine Lagarde told a Bloomberg event on Tuesday.
Real GDP is projected to fall by 8.0% in 2020, according to the latest ECB staff projections, before rebounding by 5.0% in 2021 and by 3.2% in 2022.
While the deployment of vaccines could occur more quickly than earlier thought, the economy was also taking a bigger hit from the second wave of the pandemic than expected, Lagarde added.
Oil prices edged higher Wednesday despite a jump in U.S. inventories that raised fears of a fresh glut. The industry body, the American Petroleum Institute, said late Tuesday that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, well above expectations for a build of 1.7 million barrels. Official supply data are due later in the session.
OPEC+, a group which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia, currently plans to boost output by 2 million barrels per day in January, ahead of a meeting starting at the end of the month. Expectations are growing that this increase will be waived given the hit to demand caused by the pandemic but a meeting of technical experts at OPEC on Tuesday gave no clear recommendation.
Crude futures traded 0.3% higher at $41.55 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.6% to $44.02.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,82.95/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.1879.
