European markets were off to a good start in the new year, with the major indices posting huge gains due to growing optimism over approval of more coronavirus vaccines.
Britain’s benchmark FTSE index was up 2.6% at midday Monday. The CAC-40 in France gained 1.5%, and Germany’s DAX index was up just over one percent.
Markets in Australia and Asia also finished the first trading day of 2021 on a high note. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX index rose 1.4%. Both Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai’s Composite indices closed 0.8% higher. The KOSPI index in South Korea soared 2.4%, and Taiwan’s TSEC index gained 1.1%. Mumbai’s Sensex finished up 0.6%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index dropped 0.6% after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government was considering imposing a state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding areas in the face of a surge of new coronavirus cases.
In commodities trading, gold was selling at $1,938.80 per ounce, up 2.3%. U.S. crude oil was selling at $48.27 per barrel, down 0.5%, and Brent crude oil was unchanged percentage-wise (+0.04%), selling at $51.82 per barrel.
All three major U.S. indices were trending higher in futures trading as investors awaited Wall Street’s first opening bell of 2021.
