European stocks soar as vaccine optimism grows

European stocks rose on Monday as economic recovery hopes weighed on markets. The growing optimism in economic recovery stems from the speeding pace of inoculations in the European bloc.

Germany’s DAX futures contract gained 0.1%, the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 futures contract improved 0.6%, and France’s CAC futures inched up 0.7%.

Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a newspaper report that the EU will fast track approvals of coronavirus vaccines adapted to combat mutations. This is after the bloc was criticized for its slow pace of inoculations, while the U.K. announced on Sunday that 15 million had received their first doses.

Another factor pushing the rally in the European markets was Asia’s encouraging news, with Japan reporting a faster-than-expected growth in GDP in the fourth quarter.  

Meanwhile, German automaker Daimler reported on Saturday Mercedes-Benz USA is recalling 1.29 million units sold since 2016 because of software issues.