European stocks ended weak on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight session, as the relentless surge in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. and a few other countries across the world offset hopes about an economic recovery and prompted investors to lighten commitments.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.77%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 plunged 1.73% to a 7-week low, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.21% and Switzerland's SMI declined 0.34%, while Germany's DAX edged down 0.04%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey ended with sharp to moderate losses, while Czech Republic, Denmark and Poland closed on a positive note.
In the U.K., where stocks tumbled on virus spread and on concerns over Brexit after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier spoke about "significant divergences" between the EU and the UK, shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plunged nearly 10%, topping the list of losers in the FTSE 100 index after the jet engine maker said that its Civil Aerospace business has experienced a significant fall in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic during the first half.
National Grid shed about 5.5%, while British American Tobacco, DS Smith, Centrica, Whitbread, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Bunzi, Ashtead Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Informa lost 3 to 4.5%.
HSBC Holdings, Standard Life, Imperial Brands, Vodafone, Royal Bank and IAG also declined sharply, while Persimmon moved up nearly 6%, and Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey, Barrat Developments and Antofagasta gained 2.5 to 3.7%.
In France, Technip shares declined nearly 5.5%. Sodexo, Engie, Airbus Group, Societe Generale, Veolia, Accor, ArcelorMittal, Publicis Groupe, Bouygues, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Carrefour and Safran lost 2 to 5%.
On the other hand, Capgemini rose nearly 2.5%, STMicroElectronics gained 1.5% and Kerring moved up 1.3%. Dassault Systemes Group shares ended higher by about 1.2%.
Among the prominent losers in the German market, Wirecard plunged nearly 10%, while Lufthansa and Daimler lost 3.25% and 2.8%, respectively. Munich RE, E.ON, Henkel, Allianz, Beiersdorf and Deutsche Bank shed 1 to 2.2%.
SAP moved up more than 4.5%, buoyed by better-than-expected quarterly results. Infineon Technologies gained nearly 2.5%, while Merck and Covestro advanced nearly 2% and 1.5%, respectively.
In economic news, Germany's exports grew for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy in March, data from Destatis showed. Exports grew 9% month-on-month in May, reversing a 24% decline in April. However, that was much less than an expected increase of 13.8%.
At the same time, imports climbed 3.5% after falling 16.6% a month ago. Economists had expected a 12% rise. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 7.6 billion from EUR 3.4 billion in April. This was above economists' forecast of EUR 5.2 billion. On a yearly basis, exports plunged 29.7% and imports decreased 21.7% in May.
The UK housing market showed signs of a recovery as buyer demand, sales and fresh listing improved noticeably following the lockdown related falls, according to the residential market survey results published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
A net balance of 61% of survey respondents reported a rise in buyer enquiries in June, which was a strong rebound from -94% registered in May, the data showed.
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