Europe Covid-19 Spike: Sinks the Markets
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Key Takeaways:
- The latest growth in Coronavirus cases has caused European Markets to decline sharply as today’s session starts in the red.
- Uncertainty surrounding a second wave keeps investors alert for updates on possible new restrictions.
European markets are sharply in the red in today’s gloomy trading session. As soon as the opening bell went off, major indices dropped as much as 3% only to continue to decrease later in the day. FTSE MIB is leading the way currently down with 3.30% or 643.76 points. FTSE 100 is down some 2.4% or 140.40 points. The latter is set for its worst day in three weeks, since the index posted a loss of 3.4% on Sep 21. Germany’s DAX is also down 3%, currently posting a loss of 402 points or 3.09%. France is witnessing a sell-off as the CAC 40 is trading at 4,812, down 129 points or 2.62%.
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New Restrictions Keep Market Participants Uncertain
The sharp drop is caused by a resurgence in cases followed by a renewal of restrictions imposed by France and the UK as infections are sharply on the rise all over Europe. Market participants fear the European governments will announce tighter restrictions and even national lockdowns as the big question is whether a second wave is inevitable or not. The restricting measures by the UK will ban different households in London from gathering indoors, while Paris has a curfew that will apply from 21:00 to 06:00. President Macron informed the people of France that they are now in the second wave as confirmed new cases on Wednesday spiked to 22,951.
In other areas of Europe, governments are also rushing to act as COVID-19 infections accelerate at a rapid pace. Germany registered its highest number since the pandemic started, a total of 6,638 confirmed cases. Italy’s cases surged on Wednesday with a record of 7,332 new infections. The UK is also showing an increased number of positive cases with almost 20,000 new confirmations.
Statistics show that confirmed COVID-19 cases began to resurge in Europe since August. Moreover, cases have accelerated to record peaks in the last week as the Czech Republic registered 521 cases per 100,000 people. Followed by France with 299 and Spain with 293.
The return of uncertainty in the European markets is significantly boosted by the implementation of single approaches around Europe to face the colder winter months. Which according to health experts may allow for the easier and faster spread of the virus.