The European markets closed with losses, as the news of the new lockdown in Austria and the imposition of new restrictive measures in Germany due to the coronavirus hit the investment climate, rekindling concerns about the prospects for economic growth in Europe.
In this climate, the pan-European Stoxx 600 recorded a fall of 0.33% to 486.08 points, with the banking sector falling 2.3%. At the same time, the other pan-European Stoxx 50 lost 0.62% to 4,356.47 points.
On the rest of the board, the German DAX closed at 16,159.97 points with a fall of 0.38%, the British FTSE 100 slipped 0.45% to 7,223.57 points, the French CAC-40 lost 0.42% to 7,112.29 points while in Austria the ATX recorded a “dip” of 3.08% to 3,711.22 points.
In the periphery, the Spanish IBEX-35 moved down 1.68% to 8,753.20 points and the Italian FTSE MIB fell 1.17% to 27,337.46 points.
The rapid spread of the coronavirus in Europe was once again in the spotlight, as many countries set daily record cases, leading to stricter restrictive measures.
Austria even announced that it will impose a total, national lockdown from Monday and will make the vaccination of the population mandatory from February 1, thus becoming the first country in the European Union to take such measures again to deal with the resurgence. of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, after the closing of the famous open-air Christmas Market in Munich and after the news that Austria will impose from Monday total, national lockdown, series took place today its open-air Christmas Market Bavaria, due to the increase in coronavirus cases. The state has also imposed a lockdown on all counties with a weekly incidence rate of 1,000 per 100,000 people. In these areas, bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as cultural and sports venues will remain closed, said Bavarian Prime Minister Marcus Sonder.
The new restrictive measures in Europe, however, reinforce estimates that the European Central Bank will not rush to withdraw the stimulus measures it launched in the wake of the crisis, despite the rally of inflation in recent months.
The President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde reiterated today that high inflation will weaken by 2022, therefore the ECB should not tighten its policy as this could stifle the economic recovery.
Concerns about the return of lockdowns in Europe allay inflationary fears, with analysts reassessing their stance on the ECB’s next moves. The bad epidemiological picture in Europe removes the possibility that the central bank will raise interest rates as this would jeopardize the recovery.
At the end of the day, UK retail sales rose 0.8% on a monthly basis in October, slightly exceeding economists’ estimates in a Reuters poll for a 0.5% rise. Excluding fuels, sales rose 1.6% in October against a 0.6% growth forecast as the country faces a spike in energy prices.
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