A currency trader passes by screens showing Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and foreign exchange rate at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, July 2, 2020.
Global markets were on the rise Thursday on news of a potential effective vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index finished Thursday’s trading session 0.1 percent higher, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up over 2 percent in late afternoon trading. The Shanghai Composite was also up over 2 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX index was 1.6 percent higher, the KOSPI index in South Korea closed up 1.3 percent, and Taiwan’s TSEC index rose 0.8 percent. The Sensex in Mumbai was up 1.3 percent in late afternoon trading.
European markets were also making gains in early morning trading: the FTSE in London was up 0.9 percent, Paris’s CAC-40 index was up 1.5 percent, and the DAX index in Frankfurt was 1.8 percent higher.
Investors were optimistic after U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNtech said preliminary data from early-stage human trials of a new vaccine showed promise.
Meanwhile, oil markets were also on the rise Thursday. U.S. crude was selling at $40.24 per barrel, up 1 percent, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, was selling at $42.46 per barrel, also up 1 percent.
All three U.S. indexes were trending positively in futures trading.