Several European stock markets realized slight gains on Wednesday morning, despite concerns over a rise in COVID cases sweeping across the European Union. Having slightly declined the day before, the FTSE 100 opened 0.5% higher on Wednesday. France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX followed suit, gaining 0.2% and 0.1% on Wednesday morning respectively.
News of the Frankfurt DAX’s slight rise was warmly received by investors, given that the index has fallen for four consecutive days, hitting a two-week low in the process.
The recent decline of European markets came as several European nations were impacted by a new wave of COVID cases. In France, 30,454 new cases were announced, with French health minister Olivier Veran declaring that “we are sadly well and truly in a fifth wave of the epidemic.”
While the Netherlands has reintroduced social distancing rules, whereby people are required to remain 1.5 meters apart, Austria has implemented a nationwide lockdown.
Asian markets continue to show mixed results, with the Hang Seng rising 0.1% while the Nikkei plummeted by 1.6% on Wednesday morning. In the United States, S&P 500 futures declined by 0.1% while Dow Jones futures and NASDAQ futures both gained 0.1%.
