European stocks jump to 9-month peak on positive vaccine news

European stocks jumped to a 9-month peak in early trading on Monday, extending gains for the second consecutive day, thanks to a strong market sentiment following successive positive news about the coronavirus vaccines, and the near official launch of Pfizer's vaccine in the US.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4% as of 11:25 GMT, and hit the highest since February at 390.54 points, after it closed higher by 0.7% on Friday amid US stimulus hopes.

The Stoxx Europe index gained 1.3% during the past week, its third weekly gain in a row, thanks to continued improved risk appetite.

The pan European index opened higher today, and hit a 9-month higher, while on the cusp of the second straight daily gain, with most of the major European markets and sectors seeing green.

The energy sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, rising more than 2.5%, thanks to a broad rally in oil prices.

The British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said on Monday that its vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, was about 70% effective in preventing Covid-19, after an interim analysis of clinical trials third phase.

While Pfizer and BionTech on Friday applied for an emergency authorization to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their vaccine, which showed 95% effectiveness in preventing the virus.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.75%, after the index closed lower by 0.7% on Friday, in the second daily loss in 3 sessions, due to concerns about the suspension of emergency fiscal aid programs in the US.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.4%, Germany's DAX added 0.6%, and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.2%.