VietJoy

The welcome surge in Asian markets earlier Tuesday has not carried over into European markets at the beginning of their trading day. 

Both the FTSE in London and Frankfurt’s DAX indexes are down 0.4%, while the CAC-40 in Paris has lost 0.7%.   

The low numbers from Europe are a significant reversal from Asia’s strong finish, with all major indexes closing in positive territory.  Seoul’s KOSPI index led the way, earning 2.2%, while the indexes in both Hong Kong and Sydney closed 1.8% higher.  The Nikkei in Tokyo earned 1.4%, Taiwan’s TSEC index finished 1.1% higher, and Shanghai was 0.8% higher.   

Asia’s huge gains mirrored Monday’s big day on Wall Street, where stocks surged after U.S.-based biotechnology company Moderna said its initial tests for a possible coronavirus vaccine produced favorable results from a small sample of people.  The company said it is launching a large clinical trial in July to determine whether the vaccine is safe and effective.   

But all three major U.S. indexes are trading slightly lower in Tuesday morning futures trading.      

In oil trading, the price of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was $32.16 per barrel, up 1%, while the international benchmark Brent crude was down 0.8% at $34.53 per barrel.