American biotech group Novavax is now testing coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans, which sent its stock up by more than 20 percent. This comes as Merck & Co Inc announced plans to develop two vaccines.

Yesterday's session was quiet because of the long weekend in the City and Wall Street. The holiday in the UK and the US deprived the markets of some of their speakers. Continental European markets rose, but were a bit flat, which didn't prevent big gaps from forming on some stocks. In any case, the mood on the financial markets this morning is very positive.

Almost everywhere, activity is picking up after restrictions - although some parts of the world such as Brazil and Russia are still in the throes of the epidemic. The absence, as of yet, of signs of a potential second wave in Europe and China have boosted the overall mood.

Yet the renewed tension between China and the United States is palpable, as the two countries are expected to resume their endless trade negotiations. The markets are coming to terms with this, just as they seem to be coming to terms with the consequences of Covid-19.

The last week of May starts in a general atmosphere of relief from the pressure of Covid-19. The so-called rich countries have mobilized or pledged billions to get the economic machine over the hurdle. The equivalent of $17 trillion, according to an April OECD study quoted this weekend in the Financial Times.

The Covid-19 is less invasive, but it continues to affect our daily lives, and serves as a pretext for a sharp rise in tension between the United States and China. Relations between the two countries have been at a variable temperature since Donald Trump entered the White House. At the moment, they are rather on the polar cold side, so much so that the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has accused Washington of dragging the two countries into a "new cold war". "China has no intention of changing, let alone taking the place of the United States," he said). Trade relations and more generally economic and political relations between the two countries will once again become the number one market issue.

Today on the agenda, we have the publication of the ECB’s semi-annual Financial Stability Review. In the United States, house prices precede the Conference Board's consumer confidence index and new home sales.