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Stock markets were bouncing back on Tuesday, after Beijing clamped down on protests against repeated virus lockdowns but also said it will speed up its campaign to vaccinate its vulnerable older population, offering hope for a more permanent solution.
‘The widespread protests across China against Covid restrictions seem to have drawn a carrot and stick response from the government. Police have been out in force to prevent further civil disobedience, while news the country plans to ramp up booster shots for the elderly hint at a more pragmatic response to the pandemic,’ AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said.
The FTSE 100 index was up 50.63 points, 0.7%, at 7,524.65 midday Tuesday. The FTSE 250 was up 22.98 points, 0.1% at 19,314.55, but the AIM All-Share was down 1.83 points, 0.2%, at 849.09.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 752.55, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 16,711.66, and the Cboe Small Companies up 0.5% at 16,711.66.
Beijing’s National Health Commission pledged to ‘accelerate the increase in the vaccination rate for people over the age of 80, and continue to increase the vaccination rate for people aged 60-79’.
Just 66% of people over 80 are fully vaccinated, NHC officials told a press conference Tuesday, and China has not yet approved mRNA vaccines for public use.
China’s low vaccination rates, particularly among the older population, have long been seen as prolonging Beijing’s no-tolerance approach to Covid, with even small caseloads met with harsh lockdowns and quarantine.
The vaccine news comes as China’s major cities of Beijing and Shanghai were blanketed with security on Tuesday in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for political freedoms and an end to Covid lockdowns.
Oil prices rallied on the prospect of a pick-up in demand from China were Beijing to roll-back some of its zero-Covid measures. Brent oil was quoted at $86.33 a barrel early Tuesday, up sharply from $82.84 late Monday.
‘The prospect of a return to normality, in an economy that is the world‘