European Shares Extend Losses On Growth Worries
(RTTNews) - European stocks fell sharply on Monday to extend losses from the previous session as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data along with news of a "ferocious" COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing's most populous district of Chaoyang sapped investors' appetite for riskier assets.
Weak UK growth data also raised concerns about the economic outlook in the region. U.K. GDP fell unexpectedly by 0.3 percent month-on-month in April, faster than the 0.1 percent drop in March, the Office for National Statistics said. This was the second consecutive contraction. GDP was forecast to grow 0.1 percent.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was down nearly 2 percent at 414.47 after plummeting 2.7 percent on Friday.
The German DAX also fell around 2 percent, France's CAC 40 index plunged 2.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 1.6 percent.
Valneva shares nosedived 25 percent after the French drug maker warned over prospects for its COVID-19 vaccine.
German wind turbine maker Nordex AG slumped 6 percent despite winning an order to supply 105 MW turbines for Krivaca, the first wind farm in eastern Serbia.
Likewise, Sanofi declined 1.4 percent despite reporting positive results from a COVID booster.
Ferrexpo lost 13 percent. The commodity trading and mining firm said the Group has recently been notified of further infrastructure damage as a result of a Russian missile strike in southwest Ukraine, which has reduced the Group's ability to use its barging operations that serve European customers.