Europe Markets: Germany’s DAX turns positive for the year after EU leaders agree coronavirus recovery package

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European stocks rose early on Tuesday, as European Union leaders finally agreed a €750 billion ($860 billion) coronavirus rescue fund after marathon negotiations.

The bloc’s 27 leaders had been locked in discussions for four days over the spending package aimed to aid the economic recovery — twice the scheduled time — making investors nervous at the beginning of the week. But news of the deal boosted European equities, sending the German DAX DAX, +1.96% into positive territory for the year.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 SXXP, +1.19% index climbed 1.2% in early trading, while the French CAC PX1, +1.49% rose 1.3% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, +0.71% moved 0.7% higher. The upbeat mood also pushed U.S. stock futures ES00, +0.71% NQ00, +0.88% higher, with Dow futures YM00, +0.63% up 0.7% ahead of the open. The euro EURUSD, -0.01%, which had climbed to four-month highs earlier in the week on hopes of a deal, fell slightly in early trading.

The negotiations had reportedly stalled due to a split between the so-called frugal EU countries — Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria — and those worst affected by the pandemic, such as Italy and Spain.

The agreed deal will see €390 billion offered in grants to individual countries, with the rest coming in the form of loans, lower than the proposed €500 billion in grants. The leaders also agreed on a multiyear budget of around €1.1 trillion from 2021-2027.

Sam Cooper, vice president of market risk solutions at Silicon Valley Bank, said the conclusion of the marathon summit would be a relief to many and an opportunity when it comes to the euro.

“Although the euro initially sold off in what appears to be a classic case of buy the rumor, sell the fact, many will welcome the developments and view the intraday weakness as an opportunity to buy a ticket for the long-term euro rally,” he said.

GVC Holdings GVC, -10.78% fell 7.6% after the FTSE 100 betting and gambling group said it was being investigated by the U.K. tax authority over “potential corporate offending” in relation to its former Turkish-facing online gambling business.

Norway’s Adevinta ADE, +35.21% surged 37% after the online marketplace said it had agreed to buy eBay’s EBAY, +0.58% classified ads business for $9.2 billion.

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