(Reuters.) European stocks closed higher Wednesday as they recorded their largest two-day gain for more than a decade. The rise in defensive stocks was due to investors weighing the efficacy of current vaccines against Omicron Coronavirus.

The region’s index rose 3.8% in the last two days and then jumped 0.1% in the early deals.

Germany’s BioNTech produces COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer (NYSE:) fell 6.3% following a study that showed the Omicron variant could partially escape protection from their COVID-19 vaccination.

Sectors considered more stable during times of uncertainty such as healthcare and food & beverages were the top gainers.

L’Oreal’s stock rose 1.1% on the news that Nestle, the consumer giant in France, would reduce its stake by selling shares valued at 8.9 Billion Euros ($10 Billion) to around 20%.

Nestle shares rose 1.6% in order to trade at record lows.

TUI UK shares plunged to 5.4% as travel shares plummeted after posting a loss of more than 2 billion euros (£2.26 billion) annually.

After a disappointing outlook for earnings in 2022, Hellofresh, a German company that makes meal-kits, fell 8.3%.

Chipmakers Infineon Technologies (OTC) Technologies lost 2.9% while STMicroelectronics fell 1.3% Morgan Stanley (NYSE) The stock were downgraded from “equal-weight”.