Risk sentiment keeps in a better spot to start European trading
S&P 500 futures clipped 3,900 earlier in the day but is still trading thereabouts (3,894) and is up by roughly 0.3% to kick start the session.
The market has had a knack over the last few months in brushing aside any setback from virus/vaccine developments and we're seeing that once again - at least for now.
The latest news on the vaccine front today sees Oxford/AstraZeneca say that their vaccine is not effective against the South African variant of the coronavirus.
Considering that US equities are at record highs, there is a reasonable argument that gains may moderate upon seeing the headlines but for now, there is still a sense of calm as stimulus hopes continue to fuel optimism in the broader market.
If anything else, keep a close watch on this vaccine vs variant topic as it could be one of the key risks to the market in the bigger picture when viewing the outlook this year.