European stocks traded higher on Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index marking its best session in more than a month after Friday’s slump in a climate of concern caused by the new coronavirus Omicron mutation.
Investors are now waiting to hear more from experts about the new Omicron strain of the coronavirus found in South Africa, amid growing concerns that it could derail the global economic recovery if it turns out to be missing the protection offered by existing vaccines.
Several countries have already banned flights from South Africa, but this does not seem to be enough to prevent the spread of the new strain that has been identified in many European countries. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines against Covid-19 have announced that research is underway on the resistance of the new mutation in their formulations to determine if new versions of the vaccines are needed.
Concerns about the new strain of the virus forced the STOXX 600 to dip 3.7% on Friday, in a global selloff with the leisure and travel industry at the center of liquidations.
The pan-European index recovered 0.7% today and closed at 467.24 points. Shares in the travel and leisure industry gained ground with Wizz Air, Lufthansa, TUI Group and Ryanair boosting from 1% to 5.5% after Friday’s double-digit losses.
On the board, the German DAX closed with small gains of 0.2% at 15,280.86 points, the CAC 40 strengthened by 0.5% to 6,776.25 points, while the British FTSE 100 gained 0.9% to 7,109.95 points .
In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB strengthened 0.7%. while the Spanish IBEX 35 gained 0.6%.
BT jumped 6.1% in individual shares after a report said that the Indian oil-telecommunications group Reliance is considering bidding for the British company.
On the other hand, the French car parts group Faurecia fell 7.9% after revising down its forecast for the year.
At the end of the day, the economic climate in the Eurozone deteriorated in November, with the Commission’s economic climate index falling to 117.5 points from 118.6 points in October.
Consumer prices in Germany rose sharply in November, exceeding estimates and climbing to the highest level since the summer of 1992, according to preliminary data from the statistical service Destatis. Consumer prices rose 5.2% year on year, exceeding estimates by 5.1%.
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