European banks, airlines surge after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine news

[November 09, 2020]  LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in European banks and in the travel and leisure industries surged about 10% on Monday after Pfizer <PFE.N> announced that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, which prompted a major rally across the continent's bourses.

A logo for Pfizer is displayed on a monitor on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 29, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Europe's banking index <.SX7P> made its biggest jump since the European sovereign debt crisis in 2011 and gained 10.9%.

European airlines, hard hit by the social restructions induced by the pandemic, made high double-digit gains, such as BA owner IAG <ICAG.L>, rising close to 40%.

Earlier, Britain's transport minister Grant Shapps told an online airport industry conference that Britain was making "good progress" with a plan to allow COVID-19 tests to shorten a 14-day quarantine period for those returning from abroad, a change that could help fuel a recover in travel.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which was already rising after Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. presidential election, jumped 4.5%.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus, editing by Huw Jones)

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