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| - Global stock markets got a shot in the arm from hopes for a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, with the outlook for more US financial stimulus adding to the brighter mood. Optimism was sparked by US biotech firm Moderna saying the final stage of human trials for a COVID-19 vaccine would start at the end of the month, after a report said first stage tests had been a success. The news follows an announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech that two of four candidates for treatment had received "Fast Track" designation from US officials. "It goes without saying that a vaccine will be the gamechanger in the pandemic, the thing that will allow life to return to normal and businesses and households to thrive once again," said Craig Erlam, analyst at the Oanda trading group. "So it's hardly surprising that investors get a little excited when the results of these trials emerge, even those in the early stages." Providing added support were signs that the US might add to its stimulus after reports said top Republicans were reconsidering their opposition to it. Trillions of dollars pledged by the US and other governments and central banks around the world have been a key driver of the rally in stock markets from their March lows -- but one that is weighing on the US currency. Strong US industrial output numbers released shortly before the New York opening bell added to the better mood on trading floors. On the corporate front, Apple shares rose after a European court on Wednesday annulled an EU order that Apple repay Ireland 13 billion euros ($15 billion) in back taxes. Goldman Sachs shares were up after the bank beat earnings forecasts. In Asia earlier, Hong Kong's main stocks index closed flat as China-US worries and rising infection numbers in the city weighed. Officials in Hong Kong, which had gone weeks without a new infection, fear the city is about to be hit by a third wave, while Florida, which was one of the first states to lift restrictions, saw a new daily record of deaths Tuesday. London - FTSE 100: UP 1.8 percent at 6,288.50 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.7 percent at 12,910.94 Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.3 percent at 5,12074 EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.8 percent at 3,381.07 New York - Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 27,010.46 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 22,945.50 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 24,481.58 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.6 percent at 3,361.30 (close) West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $40.91 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.2 percent at $43.40 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1439 from $1.1392 at 2040 GMT Dollar/yen: DOWN at 106.78 yen from 107.28 Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2637 from $1.2551 Euro/pound: DOWN at 90.52 pence from 90.76 burs-jh/
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