Recovery hopes to underpin Wall Street, vaccine makers slide

Recovery hopes to underpin Wall Street, vaccine makers slide

Wall Street was set for ทางเข้า slotxo a steady start on Thursday as confidence in the economic recovery offset jitters in American pharmas over rights to their COVID vaccines.

Futures contracts in the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrials were all slightly firmer.

The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high on Wednesday as investors bet on recovery from the pandemic lifting 'cyclical' companies that typically rise in lockstep with an economic rebound.

Analysts expect data on Thursday to show a decline in weekly jobless claims in the United States, reinforcing the recovery picture.

Friday's U.S. monthly jobs report is also expected to show that nonfarm payrolls increased by 978,000 jobs last month.

Shares in Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical companies remained under pressure after President Joe Biden on Wednesday supported waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines to boost the fight against the pandemic, piling pressure on Europe to follow suit.

Investors drew comfort from the latest economic data and forecasts in Europe which pointed to a recovery still on track.

Retail sales in the euro zone beat expectations with a 2.7per cent rise in March as curbs on shoppers eased. "This bodes well for the months ahead when further restrictions can be expected to be lifted," ING bank said.

The Bank of England increased its forecast for Britain's economic growth this year after its coronavirus slump.

The STOXX index of 600 European companies was flat, still near last month's record high. The MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks, ACWI, was up 0.18per cent at 700.98 points, about 10 points short of its record high, also set last month.