European stocks jumped at the open, as data showed new coronavirus cases growing at the slowest rate in months while the head of the Federal Reserve said the U.S. central bank had plenty of ammunition to fight the economic crisis.
After dropping 3.8% last week, the Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
climbed 1.9%.
The German DAX
DAX,
gained 2.5%, the French CAC 40
PX1,
advanced 2.1% and the U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
rallied 2.2%.
The 0.9% growth in global new coronavirus cases was the first sub-1% reading since Feb. 24, and the growth of deaths of 0.7% was the first sub-1% rise of the outbreak, according to data compiled by Deutsche Bank.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told CBS’s 60 Minutes program that “we’re not out of ammunition by a long shot” as he said the Fed could enlarge existing lending programs or start new ones. Powell appears before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
In Europe, the Austrian, Belgian, Greek, French, Italian and Spanish securities regulators have jointly decided to end their short-selling bans that had been in place since the middle of March.
Greece reopened the Acropolis in Athens as European ministers discussed whether to reopen their countries to foreign visitors for summer vacations.
Of stocks on the move, Swedish medical equipment maker Elekta
EKTA.B,
surged 14% after Australia’s GenesisCare ordered $200 million of its linear accelerators.
Aeroports de Paris shares
ADP,
rose 7%. The company reported a 99% traffic drop for April.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 300 points and crude-oil futures
CL.1,
climbed above the $30 per barrel mark.
The euro
EURUSD,
was little changed at $1.0809.