Stocks advanced globally alongside US equity futures after European leaders reached a deal on a landmark stimulus package.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 1 per cent as of 8.10 am in Dublin. Earnings were also in focus, with UBS climbing 2.2 per cent after reporting net new money and profit that beat estimates and expressing confidence about dividends, while Novartis dropped 1 per cent after trimming its 2020 sales forecast.
The agreement over the EU recovery fund is further boosting sentiment, following optimism about a vaccine against the coronavirus. A gauge of risk in the region’s investment-grade debt dropped to the lowest since February.
Equities in Europe have outperformed US and global shares since mid-May, when the stimulus proposal was first announced, with several strategists and investors citing it as a reason to prefer the region’s stocks. The agreement over the EU recovery fund is “a big deal for the bloc which will see countries borrow together for the first time,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group
Equities rose across Asia, with Australia outperforming after the government boosted job subsidies.
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