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Dec 9 (Reuters) - European shares hit February highs on
Wednesday, joining a global stock market rally on optimism
around progress in COVID-19 vaccines and U.S. stimulus package,
while all eyes turned to make-or-break Brexit talks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX and London's FTSE
100 .FTSE both climbed 0.3%.
UK Brexit supremo, Michael Gove, on Wednesday said Britain
and the European Union should have a "smoother glide path" to a
Brexit trade after they agreed on the implementation of the
Northern Ireland protocol - a major point of contention between
the two sides - a day before. But others including EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier,
and UK PM Boris Johnson said a no-deal scenario was more likely
with just three weeks left till Britain's exit from the bloc.
Johnson is to meet European Commission chief Ursula von der
Leyen on Wednesday in a last ditch attempt to seal a deal.
Globally, the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC hit
record highs overnight, and Asia shares .MIAPJ0000PUS followed
suit. MKTS/GLOB
After Britain on Tuesday became the first Western nation to
start vaccinating its population with the Pfizer/BioNtech
COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer PFE.N and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N
made further progress with trials and regulatory approvals,
receptively.