BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rallied on Monday as the U.S. authorized a new coronavirus treatment and investors cheered signs of a thaw in U.S.-China tensions.
Risk sentiment received a boost after the U.S. FDA announced an emergency use authorization for the use of convalescent plasma in helping treat patients with Covid-19.
President Donald Trump hailed the FDA's decision and claimed the treatment could reduce the mortality by 35 percent.
Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter said that Trump's team is privately seeking to reassure U.S. companies that they can still do business with the WeChat messaging app in China.
The benchmark FTSE 100 climbed 113 points, or 1.9 percent, to 6,115 after declining 0.2 percent on Friday.
AstraZeneca shares jumped 3.3 percent. The Financial Times said the Trump administration is considering fast-tracking an experimental Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University to return the economy closer to normalcy.
British Airways-owner IAG declined 0.6 percent after France said it plans to reciprocate Britain's decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France.
Shares of BT Group soared 5.6 percent. Sky News reported the telecoms giant has asked Goldman Sachs to update its defense strategy from possible suitors.
Bunzl rose nearly 3 percent after the distribution and outsourcing firm resumed dividends and reported a 16.6 percent rise in first-half profit.
BP Plc climbed 2.8 percent and Royal Dutch Shell added 3.3 percent as oil prices rose amid storms in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX