AGL 38.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.41%)
AIRLINK 212.50 Increased By ▲ 4.73 (2.28%)
BOP 10.04 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.2%)
CNERGY 6.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-5.93%)
DCL 9.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-3.9%)
DFML 40.11 Decreased By ▼ -1.03 (-2.5%)
DGKC 100.50 Decreased By ▼ -2.96 (-2.86%)
FCCL 36.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-0.96%)
FFBL 88.99 Decreased By ▼ -2.60 (-2.84%)
FFL 14.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-2.47%)
HUBC 136.79 Decreased By ▼ -2.64 (-1.89%)
HUMNL 13.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.85%)
KEL 5.78 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-3.18%)
KOSM 7.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-6.49%)
MLCF 46.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.98 (-2.07%)
NBP 66.38 Decreased By ▼ -7.38 (-10.01%)
OGDC 219.99 Decreased By ▼ -2.67 (-1.2%)
PAEL 38.39 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (0.73%)
PIBTL 8.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.32 (-3.45%)
PPL 200.70 Decreased By ▼ -5.15 (-2.5%)
PRL 39.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-1.13%)
PTC 26.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-2.22%)
SEARL 105.00 Decreased By ▼ -5.24 (-4.75%)
TELE 9.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.41%)
TOMCL 37.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.86 (-2.25%)
TPLP 13.69 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.58%)
TREET 25.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-2.65%)
TRG 59.03 Decreased By ▼ -1.51 (-2.49%)
UNITY 33.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.65 (-1.9%)
WTL 1.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-6.91%)
BR100 12,093 Decreased By -206 (-1.67%)
BR30 37,918 Decreased By -959.2 (-2.47%)
KSE100 112,883 Decreased By -1977.5 (-1.72%)
KSE30 35,546 Decreased By -650.2 (-1.8%)

FRANKFURT: European stocks closed at over a five-week high on Wednesday, with travel stocks surfing a wave of optimism following reports of progress in developing a Covid-19 vaccine.

Hard-hit airline stocks like British Airways-owner IAG, Ryanair and Lufthansa rose between 9.7% and 10.7%, while cruise operator Carnival Plc jumped 11.4%.

The travel & leisure index surged 6.1% to lead sectoral gains, but still remains the worst performer in Europe this year with a 33% plunge as the coronavirus pandemic brought global travel to a halt.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.8%, closing just short of levels last seen in early March, while euro zone blue-chips jumped 1.7% to hit their highest level since March 5.

Investors were encouraged by an early-stage study on US biotech firm Moderna Inc's experimental vaccine for Covid-19 that provoked immune responses.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca jumped 5.2% after a report said positive news on the University of Oxford's potential Covid-19 vaccine that has been licensed to the drugmaker could be announced as soon as Thursday.

Among individual movers, Swedish telecom operator Tele2 AB gained 2.9% as it reaffirmed its 2020 earnings outlook and plans for an extra shareholder payout.

The world's largest fish farmer Mowi ASA jumped 6.8% as harvest volumes beat its own forecast. Shares in peer Salmar rose 2.2%.

The top gainer on the STOXX 600 was Atlantia SpA, which shot up 26.7% after the Italian infrastructure group and its unit Autostrade made the government new offers to settle their long-running dispute.

Semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV declined 3.7% as it reported quarterly profit below estimates, but forecast overall growth for 2020. Swedish bank SEB AB fell 1.6% after reporting a smaller-than-expected fall in net quarterly profit, but credit loss provisions surged. Handelsbanken AB also dropped 2.6%.

Comments

Comments are closed.