Stocks advanced globally alongside US equity futures after European leaders reached a deal on a landmark stimulus package. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 1 per cent as of 8.10 am in Dublin. The agreement over the EU recovery fund is further boosting sentiment, following optimism about a vaccine against the coronavirus. Equities in Europe have outperformed US and global shares since mid-May, when the stimulus proposal was first announced, with several strategists and investors citing it as a reason to prefer the region’s stocks. Meanwhile, euro-area leaders agreed on a stimulus package to pull their economies out of the worst recession in memory and tighten the financial bonds holding their 27 nations together.

Source: The Irish Times July 21, 2020 07:52 UTC