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European stocks on Tuesday were enjoying their second-best day of the year, rallying on signs that the omicron variant of coronavirus might not be as harmful as initially feared.
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
rose 1.7% to 476.82, on track for the best single-day advance since the 2.1% gain on March 8.
Of the major regional indexes, the German DAX
DAX,
surged 1.8%, the French CAC 40
PX1,
surged 2% and the U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
added 1.1%.
Tech stocks led Tuesday’s rally, with semiconductor equipment maker ASML
ASML,
advancing 6%, and Aixtron
AIXA,
also rising 6%.
“The reasons for today’s positive tone are numerous: reduced concerns over the severity of omicron; improved confidence over China’s response to the property sector woes; and a swath of strong global macro data,” said David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Rosenberg Research.
Chinese trade data and German industrial production reports helped buoy sentiment, which in large part was carried forward by optimism from Dr. Anthony Fauci that the omicron variant, so far, isn’t more harmful than other variants.
China’s decision on Monday to cut its reserve ratio for banks also helped sentiment.
