LONDON – European stocks rose today in early morning deals, with London edging higher after Britain became the first nation to approve a coronavirus vaccine from drug firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
In initial trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% to stand at 6,605.79 points, with AstraZeneca adding 0.7% at 7,516.90 pence.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index also added 0.1% to 13,776.24 points and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 5,622.74.
"Oxford-AstraZeneca’s covid vaccine finally got the green-light," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.
"This is certainly good news. Another major company getting its vaccine approved by the lawmakers will further improve the coronavirus situation as the number of Covid cases are ticking higher over in Europe and in the US."
Britain will start rolling out the vaccine from January 4. The jab can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions, and is therefore cheaper and easier to administer than the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines that require freezing. – AFP pic, December 30, 2020
