BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks rose notably on Wednesday amid stimulus hopes and Covid-19 vaccine optimism.
The White House has put forward a fresh stimulus proposal of more than US$900 billion (RM3.6 trillion), lifting hopes that lawmakers could pass a deal before Christmas.
The European Central Bank holds its monthly policy meeting on Thursday, with analysts expecting the central bank to ramp up its monthly bond-buying targets.
On the vaccine front, Britain on Tuesday became the first Western nation to begin a wide vaccination campaign, while Johnson & Johnson said it expects to have results from its final trial for its single-dose coronavirus vaccine in January.
The benchmark CAC 40 rose 38 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,597 after declining 0.2 percent on Tuesday.
Sanofi advanced 0.7 percent. The French pharmaceutical company and Kiadis said that the competition condition for completion of offer has now been satisfied.
Alstom dropped 0.7 percent. The manufacturer of rolling stock said it has finalized a deal to invest $7 million in Cylus, an Israel-based cybersecurity specialist.
Casino Group gained 0.6 percent. The retail company said that it has launched a transaction, aiming to strengthen its liquidity until end-2023, reduce bond debt and extend its average maturity.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
