UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 soars to near 3-month high on vaccine optimism

* Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine over 90% effective
* Markets cheer Biden's U.S election victory
* Taylor Wimpey jumps on upbeat trading update
* Countrywide surges after Connells makes initial buyout
approach
* FTSE 100 up 4.7%, FTSE 250 adds 5.2%

(Adds comment, Pfizer vaccine news; update to close)
By Devik Jain
Nov 9 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 jumped to a near
three-month high on Monday as signs of progress in developing a
COVID-19 vaccine bolstered hopes of a swift economic recovery,
with investors also cheering Democrat Joe Biden's U.S. election
victory.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE closed up 4.7%, logging
its best day since March 24, while the domestically focused
mid-cap FTSE 250 soared 5.2% to a more than eight-month high.
Travel .FTNMX5750 and oil .FTNMX0530 stocks surged 12.3%
and 13.2%, respectively, after U.S. drugmaker Pfizer PFE.N and
German partner BioNTech BNTX.O said their experimental
COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective based on initial
trial results. "Today's news is basically just 100% good news and there's
not much room for subjectivity or debate, or all glass half
empty kind of analysis," said Stefan Koopman, senior market
economist at Rabobank.
"The markets are betting that life will return to normal
sooner rather than later as there are new pathways out of this
crisis, and the market is exuberant to hear this."
UK markets started November on a stronger footing as the
British government and the Bank of England ramped up stimulus
measures to support an economy facing a second nationwide
coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Brexit news was also in focus, with the European Union
saying it was redoubling its efforts to reach a trade deal with
Britain this week. Banks .FTNMX8350 , which are considered a barometer for
economic growth, added 12.2%.
Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey Plc TW.L surged 18.6% after it
forecast annual results above market expectations, while real
estate agent Countrywide Plc CWD.L advanced 41.4% following an
early-stage buyout approach from property firm Connells Ltd.
Shares of aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce RR.L ended nearly
44% higher, having earlier gained as much as 97%, while
stay-at-home winners such as Reckitt Benckiser RB.L , Just Eat
Takeaway.com JETJ.L and Ocado Group Plc OCDO.L tumbled
between 5.8% and 11.5%.