Europe open: Shares shrug off Nasdaq sell-off, UK Brexit moves
European shares bucked the trend in early trade on Wednesday, shrugging off another tech sell-off in the US overnight and the UK government’s plan to break the law over the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.64% to 366.12. All European markets were higher at the opening.
Investors had been prepared for a weaker start after the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell more than 10% overnight. In the UK, the pound weakened as a government minister admitted the plan to break parts of its Brexit withdrawal deal would break international law.
A weaker pound tends to benefit the top-flight index, as around 70% of its constituents derive most of their earnings from overseas.
The crisis deepened when one of the government’s top lawyers resigned on Tuesday in protest at the proposal.
In corporate news, shares in French reinsurer Scor rose as it said life claims were better than expected, while claims in property and casualty are in line with expectations.
"SCOR is absorbing the impact of the Covid-19 crisis," it said.
AstraZeneca shares were lower as it paused final trials of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. Oxford Biomedica suffered heavy losses on the vaccine news as the company recently signed a supply agreement with AstraZeneca.
Travel stocks were also lower after the UK government reintroduced coronavirus restrictions in England, banning gatherings of more than six people from Monday.
EasyJet, Carnival, TUI and Trainline all fell on the news, as did Premier Inn owner Whitbread.