* STOXX 600 logs best day in nearly six months
* Travel and leisure stocks among best performers
* Trade-reliant miners, auto stocks jump
* Brexit trade negotiations in focus (Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal
Nov 9 (Reuters) - European shares jumped to an eight-month high on Monday after drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech flagged strong progress in their COVID-19 vaccine, while Joe Biden's election victory raised hopes of a more stable U.S. trade policy.
Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) PFE.N and BioNTech SE 22UAy.F said the experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on initial data from a large study. pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX jumped nearly 4% and clocked its best day since late March. Travel and leisure stocks .SXTP , which have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, were among the best performing sectors, adding 7% to hit an eight-month high.
BioNTech's shares jumped more than 15%, while Germany's main stock index .GDAXI added 5%. The index was also boosted by positive trade data for September. on the efficacy of a vaccine is an important piece of the puzzle needed for the global economy and markets to put the COVID-19 recession behind it," said Karen Ward, chief market strategist EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
"Coupled with Biden's win, and a more predictable multilateral approach to issues such as trade and climate change, the stage is set for a more balanced return trajectory."
Optimism over a win on Saturday by Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the U.S. election saw European stocks swiftly bouncing back, with the STOXX 600 trading about 11% higher in November so far.
But a resurgence in virus cases had hit markets hard last month, with the STOXX 600 losing more than 5% after the UK, Ireland and France all announced new nation-wide lockdowns.
Investor attention has also been on Brexit trade talks, with Britain saying it was open to a "sensible" compromise on fishing and that there was goodwill on both sides to progress towards a trade deal. export-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE jumped 4.7%, while the British mid-cap index .FTMC added 5.2%.
In company news, German chipmaker Infineon IFXGn.DE gained 3.5% as it forecast a nearly 23% jump in revenue in the year ahead. homebuilder Taylor Wimpey TW.L surged 18.6% after saying it was set to deliver annual results towards the upper end of expectations as the housing market recovered quicker than expected from a coronavirus-led slump. for STOXX 600 were 2.8 times their 90-day daily average by 1706 GMT as investors stormed to equity markets to play the Biden win trade and a positive COVID-19 vaccine update from Pfizer.