European shares fell on Monday after data showing a decline in euro zone business activity fueled fears of a recession in the region and as investors weighed uncertainty over the easing of strict Covid-19 restrictions in China.
The STOXX 600 across the region was down 0.2%. The Index posted gains for the seventh straight week on Friday, helped by China-led optimism and easing concerns about aggressive interest rate hikes.
Still, a partial easing of the world’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions sowed havoc across China on Monday, although investors cheered the prospects for a broader policy shift after last month’s historic protests.
Most STOXX 600 sectors were in the red, with technology and consumer staples seeing the biggest declines.
“The fact that there is an uneven easing of Covid controls has helped oil prices a little bit, but we’re not seeing that really reflected much in the energy giants’ stock prices because it’s not clear exactly how those restrictions will continue to be relaxed.” , said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Data showed that euro zone business activity fell for a fifth month in November, suggesting the economy is slipping into a mild recession.
🇧🇷 The FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.10% to 1,750 points.
🇧🇷 In LONDON, the Financial Times index advanced 0.30%, to 7,578 points.
🇧🇷 In FRANKFURT, the DAX index was down 0.47% to 14,461 points.
🇧🇷 In PARIS, the CAC-40 index lost 0.28%, at 6,723 points.
🇧🇷 In MILAN, the Ftse/Mib index lost 0.04% to 24,612 points.
🇧🇷 In MADRID, the Ibex-35 index registered a decrease of 0.05%, at 8,378 points.
🇧🇷 In LISBON, the PSI20 index gained 0.15% to 5,865 points.
Source: CNN Brasil

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