European stocks back on retreat as virus impact grows

A two-day stock market recovery fizzled out in Europe on Thursday as the still rapidly spreading coronavirus and fears of a deep global recession overshadowed optimism from a historic $2 trillion U.S. fiscal stimulus deal.

By 0919 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1.1% after gaining for two straight sessions and recouping a small portion of the almost 4 trillion the pandemic has knocked off share values since mid-February.

Italian and Spanish bourses fell between 0.7% and 1.5% as the number of fatalities from COVID19 in Italy topped 7,500, while those in Spain rose beyond 3,400, exceeding the total death toll in China. As new cases show little signs of peaking, Europe’s disease control agency said every country in the bloc was forecast to run out of intensive care beds by mid-April.

The benchmark European index has lost more than a quarter of its value since hitting a record high last month in one of the sharpest selloffs on record, and analysts expect more wild swings as nationwide lockdowns bring business activity to a grinding halt.

German shares fell 1.5% as a survey showed consumer morale in Europe’s biggest economy tumbled to its lowest level since 2009. Tuesday and Wednesday’s sessions had added up to the market’s biggest twoday gain since the 2008 crash.

Other global stock markets were in similar shape as investors braced for an expected surge in U.S. jobless claims data later in the day, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to a whopping 4 million.

Energy stocks were among the biggest decliners on the day, tracking a fall in oil prices. The sector has been among the hardest hit this month as travel restrictions and a Russia-Saudi Arabia price war hit oil demand.