CureVac NV said Wednesday its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was 47% effective against the disease in an interim analysis of a large clinical trial, a disappointing outcome likely to dim the shot's prospects for wider use. The setback could hinder vaccination campaigns in Europe because the German company has a contract with the European Commission to supply up to 405 million doses. CureVac has struck partnerships with big pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novartis AG to help make doses. CureVac's vaccine uses a gene-based technology, messenger RNA, similar to the technology used by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc., with its partner BioNTech SE, to make Covid-19 vaccines. In comparison, those vaccines were at least 94% effective in large clinical trials last year before new virus variants spread significantly. The Moderna and Pfizer shots have formed the backbone of mass vaccination campaigns in the U.S. and other countries. In after-hours U.S. trading, Curevac's share price plunged by more than half.

Europe's stock markets were largely treading water on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision. The DAX lost 0.1 per cent to 15,711, while the Euro-Stoxx-50 was up 0.2 per cent to 4,152, according to analysts. U.K. consumer prices rose 2.1% on the year in May, the fastest pace of growth since July 2019, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The rise exceeded the Bank of England's target for the first time in almost two years. But like the Fed and other central banks, U.K. officials have said they expect price rises to be transitory. Germany's Ifo Institute lowered its forecast for economic growth for the country in 2021 to 3.3% from 3.7% forecast in March, citing bottlenecks with supplies of intermediate products. Shares of German business software group fell SAP fell on the heels of results from U.S. rival Oracle which soundly beat expectations for earnings and sales to close out its fiscal year on Tuesday. However, Oracle shares slipped amid softer-than-anticipated guidance for the August quarter. BASF SE is postponing the initial public offering of its natural gas-and-oil subsidiary Wintershall Dea after 2021, citing current market conditions for the sector.

Stocks fell after Federal Reserve officials indicated they expected higher interest rates by late 2023, sooner than previously projected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 265.66 points, or 0.8%, to 34033.67, while the S&P edged down 22.89 points, or 0.5%, at the closing bell. The Nasdaq Composite lost 33.17 points, or 0.2%. Before the Fed's statement, stocks had hugged the flat line for much of the day. The Fed's projections showed an interest-rate increase to 0.6% from 0% currently by the end of 2023, a bit sooner than previously anticipated. Also, more Fed members now see a rate increase in 2022. This comes after the producer-price index, released on Tuesday, rose more than expected, excluding food and energy. Still, the Fed isn't upending its easy-money policies and will continue to purchase $120 billion a month in bonds. Moderna Inc. has reached a deal to sell an additional 200 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the U.S. government. The Cambridge, Mass.-based pharmaceutical company said Wednesday that the agreement brings the government's total order commitment to 500 million doses. To date, Moderna has delivered 217 million doses. It plans to supply 110 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 90 million doses in the first quarter of 2022.

Stocks fell after Federal Reserve officials indicated they expected higher interest rates by late 2023, sooner than previously projected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 265.66 points, or 0.8%, to 34033.67, while the S&P edged down 22.89 points, or 0.5%, at the closing bell. The Nasdaq Composite lost 33.17 points, or 0.2%. Before the Fed's statement, stocks had hugged the flat line for much of the day. The Fed's projections showed an interest-rate increase to 0.6% from 0% currently by the end of 2023, a bit sooner than previously anticipated. Also, more Fed members now see a rate increase in 2022. This comes after the producer-price index, released on Tuesday, rose more than expected, excluding food and energy. Still, the Fed isn't upending its easy-money policies and will continue to purchase $120 billion a month in bonds. Moderna Inc. has reached a deal to sell an additional 200 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the U.S. government. The Cambridge, Mass.-based pharmaceutical company said Wednesday that the agreement brings the government's total order commitment to 500 million doses. To date, Moderna has delivered 217 million doses. It plans to supply 110 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2021, and 90 million doses in the first quarter of 2022.

If the Asian stock markets show any reaction at all to the announcement by the US Federal Reserve of an earlier interest rate turnaround than previously envisaged, it will be muted on Thursday. In the US, investors had already been relatively relaxed about the prospect of the first interest rate hikes as early as 2023, especially since the Federal Reserve's bond-buying programme is not expected to change for the time being and at the same time the monetary authorities underlined the economic upward trend.

Treasury yields have added to Wednesday's gains, which were their biggest one-day advance in three months after the Fed surprised on in its interest rate hike timetable. Yields began climbing after the Fed decision and continued to rise after Jerome Powell said that recent inflation data have exceeded the Fed's expectations.

IR rises the Salzgitter target to 29 (28) EUR – Hold
Bryan Garnier rises the SAP target to 139 (133) EUR – Buy
MS rises the Puma target to 107 (102) EUR – Overweight

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