The aviation regulator for the European Union is expected to issue formal approval in the next few weeks for Boeing to return its former best-seller, the 737 MAX to the skies.

Boeing (ticker: BA) stock is up 4.6% in premarket trading after reports Patrick Ky, the head of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, or EASA, said he is satisfied with the changes Boeing has made to its single-aisle jet, reported Barrons.

EASA, according to the same reports, still wants Boeing to add a “synthetic sensor” which will take additional time. That, presumably, refers to additional angle of attack sensor redundancy. Still, improvements down the road won’t prevent EASA from giving the updated MAX a green light.

The Seattle-based company has also recently reported record sales from its defense-contracting businesses, which has helped it weather the bad times in commercial aviation.

The defense and space businesses have benefited for years from investments derived from the huge profits in Boeing’s commercial airplanes division. For now, however, the tables have turned, reported BizJournals.

The next catalyst for Boeing's stock price could be formal release of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine in the United States. Suspiciously, two vaccine trials were halted within 24 hours of each other this week, 3 weeks before the 2020 presidential election in November.

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