- IMF: Covid-19 vaccines to power global recovery
- UK jobless rate at four-year high; 828,000 jobs gone since pandemic started
- European stock markets rise after two days of declines
- Optimism improves among German exporters
- Lunchtime summary
2.32pm GMT
The opening bell has rung on Wall Street, and stocks are trading higher, buoyed by upbeat updates from a slew of companies such as vaccine maker Johnson & Johnson. The S&P 500 has hit another record high.
2.26pm GMT
US stocks are now expected to open slightly higher, after positive results from a number of companies including General Electric and Johnson & Johnson, as the US Federal Reserve started its two-day policy meeting.
Johnson & Johnson forecast 2021 profits above Wall Street estimate and promised to publish data from its eagerly awaited coronavirus vaccine trial soon. It’s a single-shot vaccine – unlike the other vaccines that have already been approved and require two jabs – which would make it much easier to administer.