Shock, the third Monday in a row where vaccine news push value stocks higher. Though underwhelming, the AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) vaccine trial results shoved long-suffering air travel, financial and commodities stocks higher, once again.
Across the FTSE 100, air travel stocks led the way, with Rolls Royce soaring 7.60%, while IAG bounced around 5.50%. Meanwhile, mining and oil stocks stole the show. While Glencore and BHP rallied 2.37% and 2.25% apiece, BP jumped 3.70% and Shell shares spiked around four-and-a-half percent. Enjoying some progress, too, were financial services equities, with Lloyds rallying 3.87% while Aviva shares increased by 2.08%.
After three weeks of waiting to see where vaccine competitors stand, AstraZeneca’s latest round of results will provide a short boosts ahead of the yet-to-be-published Janssen trial data. For now, IG Senior Market Analyst, Joshua Mahony, goes over the somewhat muted update:
“With AstraZeneca 2% down in early trade, it is evident that markets are somewhat underwhelmed after the largest of the two trials providing just a 70% efficacy.”
“Unfortunately for AstraZeneca, markets have become accustomed to efficacy rates closer to 95% in the wake of the Pfizer and Moderna announcements.”
“While the firm has understandably focused on the 90% efficacy rate seen when a half dose is followed by a full dose a month later, the significantly reduced sample size does provide less confidence in their findings.”
Though a break from lockdown and the reopening of non-essential shops over Christmas has given some a boost, the disappointing AstraZeneca vaccine data has left European equities in a huff as trading came to a close on Tuesday.
Eurozone indexes remained broadly flat, with the DAX down 0.078% while the CAC fell by 0.068%. Meanwhile, the FTSE led the Western losers, falling 0.28% despite positive movements in air travel, financial and commodities equities. Over the pond, the Dow Jones rallied by 0.67%, while the Nasdaq edged lower with a 0.014% loss.
