European stocks closed sharply higher Thursday on positive news around a potential coronavirus vaccine and better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed about 1.9% higher, with banks jumping 4.5% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses remained in positive territory.

European stocks tracked global markets higher, with investor sentiment getting a boost from news that a vaccine candidate being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech shows potential. An early-stage human trial of one of four potential coronavirus vaccines it’s developing showed the drug created neutralizing antibodies. The results, which were posted online, have yet to be reviewed by a medical journal.

Meggitt shares jumped more than 6% after a trading update as the British engineering company expressed hopes of a recovery in the aerospace business.

At the other end of the European blue chip index, shares of British packaging company DS Smith were down over 7% after its latest trading update.

Source: CNBC