Global stocks jump as Trump signals gamechanger plan to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the election

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• Global stocks rose on Monday after US authorities signalled the possibility of a potential coronavirus vaccine before the presidential election in November.
• President Trump’s administration is said to consider fast-tracking an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from the UK ahead of the looming election.
• On Sunday, the US Food and Drug Administration issued an “emergency use authorization” for the use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19.
• “Markets were willing to look beyond the president’s geopolitical needling to focus on celebrating this moment of progress,” a financial analyst said.
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Global stocks rose on Monday after US authorities issued an “emergency use authorization” for the use of blood plasma to treat COVID-19.

Investors looked past the rising number of new coronavirus infections in Europe, and chose to focus instead on signals from the US that it could deliver a vaccine soon.

President Trump’s administration is mulling speeding up the availability of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine from the UK ahead of the November 3 presidential election, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The vaccine candidate is under development by AstraZeneca in coordination with scientists from the University of Oxford, but falls short of the number of participants usually required for FDA approval.

Trump said the FDA’s approval to use convalescent plasma is a “breakthrough” in the treatment of coronavirus, despite it still being unclear whether the treatment actually works.

“Donald Trump was in danger of undermining sentiment as he once again labelled COVID-19 as the ‘China virus’ during the announcement,” said Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.

“However, the markets were willing to look beyond the President’s geopolitical needling to focus on celebrating this moment of progress.”

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Trump’s will to deliver a vaccine before the November 3rd election “could be a gamechanger for the president as he looks to secure an unlikely second term,” said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

Analysts said investors will look ahead to the Kansas City Fed’s virtual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week, where central bank chairman Jay Powell is expected to provide new details on the bank’s monetary policy review. 

Jackson Hole will likely be Powell’s first public speech since the Fed’s policy meeting in late July, when the bank restated its commitment to using all tools required to support the economy.

Here’s the market roundup as of 11.50 a.m. in London (6.50 a.m. ET):

• Asian indexes finished higher with China’s Shanghai Composite up 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 1.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei up 0.3%.
• European equities rose, with Germany’s DAX up 2.2%, Britain’s FTSE 100 up 1.7%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 1.9%.
• US stocks are set to open higher. Futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the US Tech 100 rose 0.9%.
• Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.6% at $42, and Brent crude up 0.6% at $45.
• The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 0.64%.
• Gold rose 0.6% to $1,958 per ounce.  

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