European stocks rise on Merkel comments, DAX 30 gains 1.5%

According to Bloomberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will tell EU leaders on Thursday that the coronavirus economic response package "must be huge."

Market reaction

This headline by itself seems to be providing a boost to the market sentiment in the European afternoon. The EUR/USD pair, which spent the majority of the day below 1.0800, gained traction in the last hour and was last seen trading at 1.0835, rising 0.12% on a daily basis.

Reflecting the upbeat market mood, major European equity indexes are also posting decisive gains. As of writing, Germany's DAX 30 Index, the UK's FTSE Index and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index were up 1.5%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively.