European stocks fall again as Covid crisis festers

LONDON: Stock markets fell further Wednesday, as investors sold risky shares owing to concerns that Europe's worsening coronavirus crisis could derail economic recovery, dealers said.

Losses were trimmed, however, after survey data showed the eurozone economy had returned to growth in March for the first time in six months.

Oil prices rebounded as traders fretted over possible supply issues given that a container ship has blocked the Suez Canal, a key route.

Bitcoin rose to $56,530 after Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted that the carmaker now accepts the virtual currency as payment in the United States.

In the background, investor fears are growing over another deadly wave of Covid-19 and concerns over a stimulus-fuelled global inflation spike have not abated.

Frankfurt stocks lost 0.6 percent and Paris slipped by 0.2 percent in afternoon trading.

"Once again, concerns about another wave of Covid-19 cases in Europe and worries that economies will reopen later than initially predicted are weighing on stocks," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.

Europe's two biggest economies, Germany and France, have been forced along with other countries to impose new restrictions to battle the disease, as they also struggle to get vaccination programmes rolling properly.

Outside the eurozone, London's FTSE 100 edged down by 0.2 percent, with losses less pronounced given Britain's rapid vaccination drive and news of easing UK inflation.

As trading got under way in New York, the Dow Jones index had risen by 0.8 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite was essentially unchanged.

In Asia, Hong Kong was among the biggest losers, dropping by two percent on news that the government had suspended its Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine programme over concerns about packaging, dealing a blow to the city's already slow inoculation programme.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has now fallen into a correction having lost more that 10 percent from its recent high.

Tokyo also shed two percent, while Shanghai, Mumbai and Jakarta each lost more than one percent.

World oil prices recovered, as traders also fished for bargain crude after a slump on Tuesday.

"The oil market selloff has been given a reprieve," noted PVM analyst Stephen Brennock.

Key figures around 1345 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,686.39 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.6 percent at 14,580.61

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,932.15

EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,825.14

New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 32,669.17

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.0 percent at 28,405.52 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.0 percent at 27,918.14 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.3 percent at 3,367.06 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1825 from $1.1849 at 2200 GMT

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3709 from $1.3752

Euro/pound: UP at 86.26 pence from 86.17 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 108.87 yen from 108.59 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.3 percent at $59.66 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.0 percent at $62.64 per barrel