Global sell-off drives European stocks to three-month lows

A sell-off in global risk assets drove European equities to near three-month lows on Thursday, as the absence of fresh stimulus for the U.S. economy and a second wave of coronavirus cases raised fears of a slowing global recovery. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.0% by 0711 GMT, hitting its lowest since June 26, while bourses in Frankfurt .GDAXI, London .FTSE and Paris .FCHI were down between 0.6% and 1.0%.

Wall Street indexes suffered sharp losses overnight, led by technology stocks after U.S. Federal Reserve officials called on more government aid from the Congress, while reinforcing their stance of loose monetary policy.

Meanwhile, France become the latest European country to reimpose curbs with the government unveiling a map of coronavirus “danger zones” and giving the hardest-hit local authorities days to tighten restrictions or risk having a state-of-health emergency declared there.

Growth-sensitive sectors such as travel and oil & gas fell about 2%, weighing on the markets. Tech stocks also dropped 2%.

Global sell-off drives European stocks to three-month lows, Reuters, Sep 24