European stocks decline as coronavirus continues to take a toll

• The STOXX 600 index was down 1.1 percent after gaining for two straight sessions.
• Italy’s FTMIB declined by 0.7pc and Spain’s IBEX fell 1.5pc

Fears of global recession and rising death toll due to coronavirus hit European stock markets on Thursday.

The STOXX 600 index was down 1.1 percent after gaining for two straight sessions. Whereas Italy’s FTMIB declined by 0.7pc and Spain’s IBEX fell 1.5pc after coronavirus continued to wreak havoc in the two countries, with thousands already dead and the number of cases rising.

The death tally in Spain rise over 3,400 as the country overtakes China, the epicenter of coronavirus.

Furthermore, German shares GDAXI was down 1.5pc after a survey showed consumer morale in Europe's biggest economy tumbled to its lowest level since 2009. The drop comes just a day after Germany's parliament voted through Wednesday a package of measures to shield Europe's largest economy totaling almost 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion).

Meanwhile, most Southeast Asian stock markets recorded gains as investors expressed optimism after a historic US $2 trillion stimulus package was announced to combat the coronavirus pandemic's economic toll.

Singaporean stocks were down 0.7pc after data showed that the economy's first-quarter contraction was the worst in a decade.

The Indonesian stock market bourse recorded its best session in over two decades and was up 10.2pc. Stocks in the Philippines jumped 7.4pc in its best session in almost 13 years, whereas, Thailand stocks gained 1.1pc after the country’s central bank announced liquidity support to money markets and daily fixed income funds.