The FTSE 100 rose on Monday’s opening bell thanks to the weekend’s positive vaccine news.
The blue-chip index climbed 0.6% to 6,357 points as it was boosted by top risers IAG, Rolls Royce, and Standard Chartered.
HSBC, Barclays, Natwest, and Lloyds also rose significantly this morning.
The FTSE 250 also picked up on Monday thanks to rising shares in Cineworld, Carnival, and easyJet.
“The European markets awoke to another dose of vaccine positivity this Monday, temporarily inoculating them to the horrifying covid-19 numbers coming out of the US,” said Connor Campbell from Spreadex.
“To top it off, the Dow Jones is on track to open at a record high. With the futures pencilling in a 300 point rise, the Dow is set to start the week at 29,770, finally making good on the all-time high intraday levels struck this time last week. This surge comes despite US covid-19 cases passing 11 million over the weekend, with a recent record of 184,000 new daily cases.”
In Asia, markets are on track to hit record highs. Markets in Japan and South Korea surged by around 2% whist China’s SSE increased by around 1%.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, commented: “The optimism of last week appears to be rolling into this week, with markets in Asia seeing another positive session, helped by the weekend news of a signing of a new Asia Pacific trade deal, and the latest China data.”
