European indices close on a fall pressured by technology and luxury stocks

European equities ended this volatile session on Wednesday (8) lower after posting their strongest two-day gain in more than a year, as technology and luxury company securities returned sharp rallies as investors gauged the ability of vaccines to avoid the adoption of new restrictions against Covid-19.

After jumping 3.8% in the past two days, the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.6%.

While purchases from defensive sectors supported the market in the morning, concerns that vaccines may not be effective against the Ômicron variant of Covid-19 and the possibility that the UK will implement tougher restrictive measures against Covid-19 as early as Thursday. the fair weighed on investor sentiment.

The index had a brief relief again when BioNTech and Pfizer said that the application of three doses of the vaccine against the coronavirus produced by the pharmaceutical companies was able to neutralize the new strain Ômicron, in a laboratory test.

“European equities offer attractive valuations relative to their US counterparts…(and) currently boast the strongest earnings and growth expectations among all developed markets,” State Street Global Advisors said in a 2022 scenarios report.

However, chip makers ASML and Infineon and luxury shares of LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Kering, which owns Gucci, fell between 1.4% and 4.6%, exerting the biggest negative pressure on the STOXX 600.

• In London, the Financial Times index retreated 0.03%, to 7,337.35 points;
• In Frankfurt, the DAX index fell 0.80% to 15,687.09 points;
• In Paris, the CAC-40 index lost 0.72%, to 7,014.57 points;
• In Milan, the Ftse/Mib index had a devaluation of 1.42%, to 26,751.93 points;
• In Madrid, the Ibex-35 index dropped by 0.95%, to 8,478.40 points;
• In Lisbon, the PSI20 index dropped 0.97%, to 5,513.40 points.