European Stocks Heading For a Fourth Weekly Gain, But Vaccine Concerns Are High

European stocks rallied on Friday, as investors were cautious before the torrent of economic data expected to be released later today, while sentiment was also affected by doubts about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1%, as the travel and energy sectors were the biggest losers in morning trade. But the benchmark is on track for a weekly gain.

The share of the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca fell 0.6%, after questions arose about the tricks of the results of an advanced stage of its vaccine study, which is likely to impede the chances of obtaining rapid regulatory approvals from the United States and the European Union.

The German leading stock index, DAX, stabilized, as the number of Covid-19 infections in the country exceeded the one million mark, and the number of daily deaths reached an unprecedented level.

Investors will focus on a European Commission survey on the business climate in the Eurozone, consumer confidence and economic sentiment data in all sectors, scheduled for release later today.