European stocks hit by new coronavirus lockdowns

LONDON: Stock markets in Europe came under pressure Tuesday as fears resurfaced over a spike in coronavirus infections, but a resilient Wall Street helped them off their worst levels, dealers said.

Key eurozone markets Frankfurt and Paris closed around one percent down, well off their lows, while London even inched back into positive territory thanks to a weaker pound following grim British output data.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones index reversed a weaker opening trend to post solid gains by the late New York morning as investors felt the market had been oversold in the previous day's late stumble, and upbeat results from JP Morgan lifted sentiment.

But uncertainty about the impact of renewed lockdowns on the business outlook weighed after the reimposition of some containment measures in parts of the United States, Australia and Hong Kong.

"The shutdown fuels fears that the growing number of coronavirus cases will hamper the fragile economic recovery," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.

California, the richest of the US states, ordered all indoor restaurants, bars and movie theatres to re-close, while churches, gyms, shopping malls, hair salons and non-essential offices have been told to shut up shop in several densely populated counties, including Los Angeles.

The measures follow new restrictions imposed in Texas, Arizona, Florida and other major states.

The British pound slid on data showing that the virus-plagued UK economy shrank by almost a fifth in the three months to April.

A weaker British currency tends to boost share prices of companies listed in London who earn much of their income in dollars.

News that Singapore's economy, considered a regional barometer in Asia, contracted a mind-boggling 41 percent in the second quarter also provided a stark reality-check for traders.

Key figures around 1540 GMT

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 6,179.75 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.8 percent at 12,697.36 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 5,007.46 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,321.39

New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 26,352.14

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 22,587.01 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.1 percent at 25,477.89 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,414.62 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $40.44 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $43.10

Dollar/yen: UP at 107.23 yen from 107.29 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2533 from $1.2556

Euro/pound: UP at 90.93 pence from 90.35 pence