Daily summary: Global stocks rose on vaccine and stimulus hopes

European indices finished today’s session mostly higher as investors welcomed the news that UK and the EU agreed to extend negotiations over a Brexit trade deal. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed over the weekend to go the “extra mile,” ignoring a self-imposed Sunday deadline and giving negotiators another shot at closing a trade deal.  European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has signaled that both parties could reach a deal on Brexit if a solution on fishing is found, BBC reported, citing an EU source.
Meanwhile, Germany announced it will enter a strict lockdown starting Wednesday with nonessential stores, schools and hairdressers required to close until at least January 10th amid rising coronavirus cases and deaths. London will be placed into the toughest tier of COVID-19 restrictions from Wednesday following a sharp rise in coronavirus rates, the CNBC reported on Monday.  During today's session DAX rose 0.90%, CAC40 added 0.53% and FTSE 100 finished 0.1% lower.

Wall Street indices are trading higher as the US regulators approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last Friday and the nation will start its vaccination campaign shortly. Also recent news regarding stimulus package lifted market sentiment. The $908 billion bipartisan plan would be split  into two parts in order to improve its chances of approval, Reuters reported. First part of $748 billion measure with money for jobless and small business and second part includes $160 billion for state and local aid that includes liability protections for businesses and other entities, the two biggest points of contention. Still, investors remain concerned over the rapid spread of the pandemic as the US death toll surpassed 300k which is a fifth of the global total while 247k new cases reported on Friday - a new daily record.

 

US crude futures erased early gains and are trading 0.75% lower at $46.20 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.5%  below $50.00 a barrel. OPEC expects the global oil demand to grow by 5.9 million barrels per day in 2021, compared to 6.25 million bpd in the previous forecast, the monthly report showed on Monday. Jitters surrounding an oil tanker exploding after being hit by an as-yet unidentified external source while discharging at Jeddah port in Saudi Arabia also resulted in prices rising. Also, it's worth noting that short-term fundamentals aren't all that good for the oil market. More countries are taking very restrictive measures in their economies. It is possible that there will be restrictions not only on trade, but also on movement, which will lead to a weakening of oil demand in the near future. Despite the fact that the coronavirus vaccine emerged faster than expected, the restrictions will remain in place for a long time to come. This is because transmission of the virus can still take place despite vaccination, and at present there are fewer vaccines than originally planned. Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.75% to $1,825.00/oz, while silver is trading 0.2% lower.