Heavy losses in the European markets in the shadow of the micron

European stocks closed higher on Monday, with the STOXX 600 falling to a two-week low amid growing concerns that other countries will follow the example of the Netherlands, which announced on Saturday that it would impose a lockdown until January 14 to face the onset of the micron mutation.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.4% to 467.35 points, with mining and automobiles plunging more than 2%.

Concerns about the impact of the micron mutation on the economic recovery have resurfaced following the announcement of a new lockdown in the Netherlands by the country’s Prime Minister Mark Rutte to address the risk of a new jump in COVID-19 cases due to the micron mutation. This is the fourth lockdown for the country.

Many European countries are taking steps to limit rallies as they see cases rising at an alarming rate. Reports in international agencies about a new lockdown in Britain after Christmas are increasing, despite the denials of the British government. The country’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, spoke today of an “extremely difficult” situation.

Moderna’s announcement that the boost dose of its Covid-19 vaccine also appears to protect against micron-transmitting mutation in laboratory tests has been encouraging.

On the board, the German DAX plunged 1.9% to 15,239.67 points, the French CAC 40 fell 0.8% to 6,870.10 points, while the British FTSE 100 lost 1% to 7,198.03 points.

In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB fell by 1.6%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 closed at -0.8%.

In business, BNP Paribas rose 0.5% after the French bank announced that it had agreed to sell its US subsidiary Bank of the West to the Canadian BMO Financial Group for about $ 16.3 billion.