FX.co ★ Stocks in Europe and Asia are rising, but the pace is declining amid the holidays

The major stock indexes in the European stock exchanges climbed on Wednesday amid news that there are hopes for a positive outcome of the negotiation process between the UK and the EU over agreements after the former leaves the Union.

The general index of large enterprises in the European region STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.37% in the morning. Its current level moved to the mark of 392.69 points.

Germany's DAX index jumped 0.6%. France's CAC 40 index gained 0.62%. Italy's FTSE MIB index added 0.52%. Spain's IBEX 35 index rose 0.62%. The UK FTSE 100 index was the only one that ignored the positive trend and showed a reduction of 0.15%.

According to the latest reports, the negotiation process between the UK and the EU is finally coming to an end. To date, the parties have moved to a crucial stage, which, according to experts, should lead to a positive conclusion. However, the parties still need additional impetus to put an end to some, particularly controversial issues. Of course, the very fact that the UK and the EU still managed to come to at least some consensus sparks optimism among market participants.

However, the news about the spread of coronavirus infection in the region becomes a fly in the ointment. Recall that an increasing number of European states, as well as countries around the globe, are stopping transport links with the UK against the background of the identification of a new, particularly dangerous and rapidly spreading strain of COVID-19. The European Commission has rushed to issue recommendations to ban secondary visits to the country while clarifying the circumstances with the coronavirus mutation. And for the citizens of the state itself, increasingly stringent quarantine measures are being introduced to stop the next wave of infection.

Only residents of the United Kingdom who are traveling to their place of permanent residence, as well as third-country citizens who enjoy the right of free movement, are exempt from restrictions on movement.

Meanwhile, the statistics on the economic growth of the EU countries turned out to be quite ambiguous. For example, the level of GDP in Spain for the third quarter of this year is expected to increase at 16.4%, which was earlier expected to grow to 16.7%. Nevertheless, even such growth rates will already be the highest for the entire period of observation of the indicator. In terms of the year, the rate of change in Spain's GDP should still be in the negative zone, that is, a reduction of about 9% is expected. All this is due to a significant drop, which was recorded at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter of the outgoing year.

Asia-Pacific stock exchanges, on the other hand, exhibited a slow change in the major stock indexes, which in general still turned out to be in the green zone.

Market participants almost ignored the fact that the current President of the United States refused to sign the draft program of financial incentives adopted in Congress, citing the fact that the amount of payments to the civilian population is too small and this figure needs to be increased.

More concerns are now caused by news about the appearance and spread of a new strain of coronavirus infection, which is found in the UK. Japan has rushed to restrict the entry of citizens from the United Kingdom. And the South Korean authorities decided to suspend all air traffic with it until the end of this month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.33%. At the same time, it is worth noting that the growth is observed for the first time after a series of cuts.

China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.76%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index supported the trend and increased 0.86%. The mood of local investors was supported by the news that the current stimulating monetary policy in the country will continue. Moreover, China's GDP growth forecasts are also improving. It is expected that the indicator will increase by 2% this year and by 7.9% next year.

South Korea's KOSPI index rose 0.96%, which allowed it to come close to its maximum values.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index went up by 0.66%, which happened after several days of negativity.