European banks, airlines surge after Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine news

LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in European banks and in the travel and leisure industries surged about 10% on Monday after Pfizer announced that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, which prompted a major rally across the continent’s bourses.

Europe’s banking index <.sx7p> made its biggest jump since the European sovereign debt crisis in 2011 and gained 10.9%.

European airlines, hard hit by the social restructions induced by the pandemic, made high double-digit gains, such as BA owner IAG , rising close to 40%.

Earlier, Britain’s transport minister Grant Shapps told an online airport industry conference that Britain was making “good progress” with a plan to allow COVID-19 tests to shorten a 14-day quarantine period for those returning from abroad, a change that could help fuel a recover in travel.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which was already rising after Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, jumped 4.5%.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus, editing by Huw Jones)