European stocks jump as Covid-19 deaths slow across hardest-hit areas

Stock markets gained on Monday on the positive news that the coronavirus pandemic may be slowing down in some parts of the world, giving hope to investors that global business will resume.

German stocks lead European gains with the DAX index growing more than four percent. France’s CAC 40 was up three percent, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose over two percent.

Stock markets also rose strongly across Asia, finishing higher in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea. Markets in mainland China were closed for a public holiday.

“Like the rest of the world, financial markets are searching for any slivers of hope,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda, told CNN. He added the positivity could be fleeting, adding that last week’s US jobs numbers show that the virus is wreaking “almost unimaginable havoc on the world’s economy.”

The global market recovery comes as death rates slowed in Spain, Italy and New York. In the United States, which is the hardest-hit nation, President Donald Trump said he was hopeful the country could be seeing a “leveling-off” of the coronavirus crisis in some of worst affected regions. 

“We see light at the end of the tunnel. Things are happening,” Trump said, warning that still, the US would reach “a horrific point” in terms of deaths. 

Globally, coronavirus cases are nearing 1,300,000 with deaths exceeding 69,000. The US has more than 336,000 infected, with more than 9,000 people dead.

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