Pfizer vaccine hopes push world stocks higher

Global shares bounced on Friday while safe havens such as the dollar were on the defensive as investors welcomed news that drugmaker Pfizer Inc could have a coronavirus vaccine ready in the United States by the end of this year.

Concerns that a teetering recovery in the world economy could be scuttled by a resurgence in the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the United States kept oil prices under pressure, and 10-year German bond yields near seven-month lows.

Shares of Pfizer jumped 3.8%, and the stock was the biggest contributor to the S&P 500’s gains on Friday. The U.S. drugmaker said it could file for U.S. authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with German partner BioNTech as early as late November.

Some analysts say investors are now trying to look past the near-term ups and downs that accompany vaccine development to focus on a likelier turnaround in 2021.

The cautious optimism benefited European shares. For the year, however, European shares have lagged their U.S. and Asian peers. The pan-European STOXX 600 is down almost 12% so far this year, compared with an 8.3% gain in the S&P 500 and a 5% rise in MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.

Sterling was on the defensive after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told businesses to get ready for a no-deal Brexit in case negotiations with the European Union fail to produce a free trade agreement.

Assurances that Britain would continue to talk to European Union representatives early next week fed hopes that a deal could be reached.

Still, in a sign that the world economy is struggling and investors are not unanimously upbeat about the outlook, oil prices fell on concerns that the spike in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States will curtail demand in two of the world’s biggest fuel-consuming regions.

This article was compiled by BOV Asset Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. BOV Asset Management,TG Complex, Suite 2, Level 3, Brewery Str., Mriehel BKR 3000. Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com Internet address: www.bovassetmanagement.com. BOV Asset Management is licensed by the MFSA.