LONDON: European stock markets dropped Thursday as traders tracked developments surrounding the Omicron variant and fallout from the Chinese property crisis.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid nearing midday, after the UK government tightened virus restrictions in England as Omicron variant cases surge, including guidance to work from home and mandatory Covid passports.
The British pound also took a knock.
"News that fresh social restrictions are being imposed in the UK... have put a brake on the rebound of not just travel stocks but bricks-and-mortar retailers, and hospitality firms," noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
It comes as Britain and other countries are fighting against surging inflation, further threatening economic recovery.
Investors were awaiting Friday's US consumer price index data as the Federal Reserve mulls the timing of US interest rate rises to tackle strong inflation.
Brazil's central bank on Wednesday hiked its benchmark interest rate by a whopping 150 basis points for the second straight time, even as Latin America's biggest economy is stuck in recession.
On Thursday, China reported that its consumer price inflation reached the highest level in more than a year in November.
Focus was on also the debt crisis in China's property sector.
Two major Chinese property firms have defaulted on $1.6 billion worth of bonds to overseas creditors, Fitch Ratings agency said Thursday, as contagion spreads within the country's debt-ridden real estate sector.
Fitch confirmed Evergrande defaulted for the first time on more than $1.2 billion worth of bond debt, as it downgraded the firm's status to a restricted default rating.
Fitch also confirmed Kaisa, a smaller property company but one of China's most indebted, had defaulted on $400 million of bonds.
Chinese property company Kaisa defaults on $400 million debt: Fitch
Elsewhere Thursday, Italy's antitrust authority said it had fined Amazon 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in e-commerce logistics.
Key figures around 1145 GMT
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,323.32 points
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 15,634.03
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,999.64
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,211.91
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 28,725.47 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 24,254.86 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,673.04 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 35,754.75 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $75.22 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $71.98 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1317 from $1.1281
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3186 from $1.3248
Euro/pound: UP at 85.85 pence from 85.15 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 113.52 yen from 113.47 yen