Paris (AFP)

As in the previous two weeks, the Paris Bourse started its Monday on the right foot, advancing 0.41% at midday, banking on the marketing before the end of the year of a vaccine against Covid-19 .

The flagship CAC 40 index gained 22.48 points to 5,518.37 points around 12:40 p.m.

It had gained 2.15% on the whole of the previous week, the third week of rise in a row.

The European stock market was also advancing on its side, Frankfurt taking 0.50%, London 0.18%, Milan 0.78% and Madrid 0.75%.

"A new Monday morning and new positive information on vaccines," responded Neil Wilson, chief analyst for Markets.com.

This Monday, at dawn, it is the British laboratory AstraZeneca, in association with the University of Oxford, which announced a vaccine effective at 70% on average, or even at 90% in some cases, according to the interim results of the trials large-scale clinics carried out in the UK and Brazil.

The previous two week starts were marked by the announcement of a 90% effective vaccine from the Pfizer / Biontech alliance, leading to a stock market surge, then to 94.5% by the American laboratory Moderna.

The former filed on Friday an authorization request in the United States where a vaccine could be distributed before mid-December.

Europe could follow in the second fortnight, according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

AstraZeneca's announcement made the sharp contraction in private sector activity in the euro area almost unnoticed in November, due to new containment measures linked to the coronavirus epidemic, according to the index's first estimate Composite PMI of the firm Markit.

ASTRAZENECA DOES NOT BENEFIT FROM ITS ADVERTISEMENT ...

The pharmaceutical company did not take advantage of the announcement of its vaccine whose average effectiveness is lower than that of its competitors, and its share price fell 1.54% to 8,189.00 pence.

... BUT TOURISM IS

These values ​​were driven by the hopes placed in vaccines, which could restart travel and tourism for good.

Air France-KLM gained 5.02% to 4.44 euros, the airline group IAG (British Airways) took 5.70% to 166.85 pence and the hotel group InterContinental Hotels 1.42% to 4,558.00 pence.

DANONE SIZES IN THE WORKFORCE

the French agri-food giant Danone (-2.36% to 51.26 euros), whose sales are battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, has announced that it wants to cut up to 2,000 positions in its headquarters in France and abroad in order to "simplify" its organization and return to growth.

© 2020 AFP