European stocks were broadly lower in cautious trade on Monday, with the turmoil in the Turkish lira and concerns over rising Covid-19 cases in the region keeping investors worried.
The Turkish lira slumped toward a record low versus the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ousted central bank chief Naci Agbal for hiking interest rate to contain double-digit inflation.
The move came two days after the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey hiked its benchmark policy rate by 200 basis points to 19 percent to tame its high inflation rate.
In a statement on Sunday, the central bank said it “will continue to use the monetary policy tools effectively in line with its main objective of achieving a permanent fall in inflation”.
On the Covid-19 front, markets are bracing for another wave of coronavirus infections and new restrictions in Europe ahead of Easter holiday break.
German authorities are expected to extend lockdown measures again and possibly tighten some restrictions amid an upward curve of Covid-19 infections in Europe’s biggest economy ahead of Easter holiday break.
The U.K. government will ask MPs to extend coronavirus restrictions for a further six months so that furlough can continue to apply even after all measures have possibly been scrapped, Health Minister Helen Whately told BBC Breakfast.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 422.49 after losing 0.8 percent on Friday. The German DAX was little changed while France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent.
Euro zone banks exposed to Turkey slumped, with Spain’s BBVA losing as much as 6 percent.
Pharmaceutical company Novartis declined 1.2 percent after appointing Karen L. Hale as Chief Legal Officer.
Roche rose about 1 percent. The Swiss pharmaceutical major said that a Phase 3 study on its monoclonal antibody drug Tecentriq met the primary endpoint of providing disease-free survival to lung cancer patients.
Energy stocks fell as oil prices retreated on concerns over fears of slowing demand. BP Plc fell about 1 percent and Royal Dutch Shell lost 1.6 percent.
AstraZeneca climbed 1.2 percent after its Covid-19 vaccine was found effective in a U.S. trial.
British home improvement retailer Kingfisher surged almost 5 percent after it reported a 44 percent jump in annual profit.
Gold mining company Centamin dropped 1 percent, reversing early gains after posting a significantly higher profit for 2020 and reaffirming its 2021 guidance.
Veolia shares fell 1.5 percent. The company, which vows to pursue its hostile takeover of utility rival Suez SA, said Sunday that it will not sell or exchange its 29.9 percent stake in the capital of Suez. Shares of Suez rose about half a percent.
Eurofins Scientific advanced 1.8 percent. The testing laboratories company announced the launch of its GSD NovaType II, its upgraded RT-PCR kit for the identification of mutations associated with SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
Travel-stocks were moving lower, with Air France KLM, Lufthansa and TUI AG falling 2-4 percent.
Business News
European Shares Drift Lower On Covid-19 Worries
2021-03-22 09:50:09
