MILAN/FRANKFURT: European stocks extended losses on Tuesday as worries about the economic fallout of tighter coronavirus restrictions on the continent overshadowed some better-than-expected earnings reports. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1% to a one-month low, on rising infections in the United States and Europe and fading hopes of a US stimulus package before the presidential election.
Focus will now be on Thursday's meeting of the European Central Bank for clues on monetary stimulus for the bloc. Germany's DAX shed 0.9% to hit four month lows, while France's CAC 40 fell 1.8% to a one-month trough as the country grappled with a runaway infection rate.
Losses on the UK's FTSE 100 were limited by a 3.4% jump in Europe's biggest bank HSBC after the lender signalled a pandemic-induced overhaul of its business model, accelerating plans to shrink in size and slash costs. But shares in oil major BP fell 2.1%. Spanish bank Santander closed down 1.3% as it tracked broader negative investor sentiment in the market.
Spain's IBEX index fell 2.1%, also on worries about the economic impact of coronavirus-related curbs. Third-quarter earnings from Europe remain largely positive. Out of the 27% of the STOXX 600 companies that have reported so far, 73% have beat profit expectations, according to Refinitiv data.
French consulting and IT services provider Capgemini jumped 2.1% after confirming its full-year targets. Tobacco group Swedish Match climbed 3.5% as it reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on the back of higher sales of smokeless products.
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