European stocks extend gains following Wall Street's record gains

European stocks rose on Wednesday, to continue their rally for the second straight day, as market sentiment improved following record gains in Wall Street, but the rally remain curbed by the mounting concerns after the  EU finance ministers failed to reach an agreement on European stability mechanism (ESM), to help in easing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.8% as of 11:45 GMT, after it closed higher by 8.4% yesterday, its largest daily gain since 2008, thanks to huge US stimulus measures.

 The index opened today's session higher, to extend its gains for the second straight day, with most European exchanges and sectors seeing green today.

The travel and leisure sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, as its stocks rose more than 9%, within the 2-day recovery attempts, as cheap prices increased demand and bargain hunting.

S&P 500 futures rose 2%, after the index closed yesterday higher by 9.4% yesterday at Wall Street, and Dow Jones posted its largest daily gain since 1933 after news that the US Congress has agreed on the huge stimulus package.

US Senators and the Trump administration agreed yesterday on the $2 trillion economic stimulus bill, and it is expected that the Congress will pass it later today.

The Eurogroup finance ministers on Tuesday failed to reach an agreement on the European Stability Mechanism to help member states in the fight against the coronavirus.

As for stocks, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.9%, France's CAC 40 jumped 1.5%, the German DAX rose by 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 climbed by 1.3%.