European markets mixed

1 min read

The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered 0.1% below the flatline in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks dropping 1% to lead losses while chemicals added 0.6%.

Cases of Covid-19 have now passed 30 million worldwide, resulting in more than 946,000 deaths. The World Health Organization warned on Thursday of a “very serious situation” arising in Europe as cases rise significantly across the continent, forcing a reimplementation of lockdown measures in certain regions.

A Reuters poll of economists suggested that the resurgences in coronavirus cases pose the biggest threat to the euro zone’s economic recovery, with growth and inflation more likely to present negative surprises than positive ones in the coming year.

European markets are set to receive a broadly positive handover from Asia-Pacific, where mainland Chinese stocks led a cautious rise during Friday’s trade, breaking from another sell-off on Wall Street driven by further losses for tech megastocks.

Amid a tumultuous period for Brexit negotiations, EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier told envoys in Brussels on Thursday that a deal with the U.K. is still possible, Reuters reported citing diplomatic sources.