Key Points: European markets are attuned to the latest coronavirus developments Wednesday with efforts to develop a vaccine and the prospects for economic recovery in focus. It comes as many countries tentatively ease lockdown measures.Hopes of an effective coronavirus vaccine have been shaken, however, as several vaccine experts said the pharmaceutical company Moderna did not provide enough information to determine how effective the vaccine is, according to a STAT News report.
European stocks rebounded from early losses on Wednesday as cautiously positive global market sentiment returned.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 recovered to trade 0.2% higher by lunchtime. Utilities climbed 1.2% to lead gains while insurance stocks fell 1.2%.
European markets are attuned to the latest coronavirus developments Wednesday with efforts to develop a vaccine and the prospects for economic recovery in focus. It comes as many countries tentatively ease lockdown measures.
Hopes of an effective coronavirus vaccine have been shaken, however, as several vaccine experts said the pharmaceutical company Moderna — which announced Monday that its potential Covid-19 vaccine appeared to be generating an immune response in human trial subjects — did not provide enough information to determine how effective the vaccine is, according to a STAT News report. The experts suggested that the recent announcement from Moderna should be taken "with a big grain of salt."
U.S. stock futures ticked higher Wednesday morning and pointed to solid opening gains on Wall Street, following a weak session Tuesday that snapped a three-day winning streak for markets.
Elsewhere, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday on the Trump administration's efforts to deal with the financial fallout of the pandemic.
Mnuchin specifically addressed how money from the $2 trillion CARES Act was distributed to individuals and businesses and said the Treasury and Fed are "fully prepared to take losses in certain scenarios" on the remaining capital.
Meanwhile, President Trump told reporters Tuesday that the World Health Organization must "clean up" its act or the U.S. won't "be involved with them anymore." Trump threatened to pull support from the agency permanently Monday and started a 30-day clock for the WHO to commit to changes.
On the data front, U.K. Consumer Price Index inflation plunged to just 0.8% year on year in April, down from 1.5% annually in March, according to the Office for National Statistics.
European statistics agency Eurostat confirmed Wednesday that euro zone April inflation was revised down to 0.3% from an initial estimate of 0.4%, bringing annual inflation to its lowest level since August 2016.
Earnings in focus
Corporate earnings releases were a key driver of individual share price action on Wednesday morning.
Experian stock climbed 8.5% in early trade after its full-year results, which also revealed that top executives would take a 25% salary cut to help whether the coronavirus crisis.
Marks & Spencer shares surged 9.3% to lead the Stoxx 600 after it unveiled a £1 billion ($1.22 billion) coronavirus action plan. The British high-end supermarket also said it would be ready to reopen clothing spaces in stores once the U.K. government gives the go-ahead.
Britain's Rolls-Royce rebounded from early losses to gain 1.3%. The company announced Wednesday that it would cut at least 9,000 jobs from its global staff of 52,000 to adapt to the smaller aviation market expected in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rolls-Royce supplies engines to large airplane manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.
At the other end of the European blue chip index, German events manager CTS Eventim and British software company Micro Focus each fell more than 7%.
- CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald and Helen Miller contributed to this report.
原文地址：https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/20/european-markets-react-to-faltering-sentiment.html