Europe's major stock markets spiked Monday after Moderna announced its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was shown to be 94.5 percent effective according to early trial results, sparking fresh hope of a return to normality, dealers said.
"This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent Covid-19 disease, including severe disease," said Stephane Bancel, Moderna's CEO.
European equities accelerated gains on the news, which comes just one week after Pfizer and BioNTech sparked a stock market boom after announcing that their Covid-19 vaccine candidate had proved 90 percent effective.
Shortly after midday on Monday, London stocks were up 1.7 percent, extending early gains.
In early afternoon deals in the eurozone, Frankfurt added 1.2 percent and Paris soared 2.4 percent, while Madrid and Milan jumped 3.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
"Just as their initial dose of vaccine bullishness appeared to be waning, the markets got another injection of good news this Monday," Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell told AFP.
"One-upping BioNTech and Pfizer, Moderna has claimed its preparation is nearly '95 percent effective' after a trial involving 30,000 Americans.
"As with Pfizer, there is still a way to go before Moderna's vaccine is approved. However, investors were only thinking about the long-term, flashing forward to the end of this nightmare."
World oil prices soared by more than 3.5 percent as the Moderna news stoked hopes of a recovery in energy demand.
Prior to the midday announcement, global stock markets were already staging a rally on bright economic data and last week's Pfizer vaccine as they waited on Moderna's expected announcement.
Equities also bounded higher after US President-elect Joe Biden's team pledged not to impose an economically damaging nationwide lockdown to contain the virus, which has now infected more than 11 million Americans
In addition, traders cheered the signing of the world's biggest free-trade deal by 15 Asia-Pacific countries -- including Japan and China -- that covers about a third of the world's GDP.
"Global stocks have received further tailwind on Monday, buoyed by investor confidence in economic recovery and building on the initial burst early last week on the vaccine announcement," said Sun Global Investments head Mihir Kapadia.
"The recent growth points towards the fact that Asia is now well and truly on the path to recovery, with China in particular, showing great resilience as Beijing revealed its factory output had risen faster than expected."
In Asia, Tokyo led the gains, jumping more than two percent on news that the world's number three economy had surged out of recession in the third quarter, expanding a forecast-beating five percent thanks to a pick-up in domestic demand and exports.