Europe close: Stocks slip as fifth pandemic wave unfolds across Continent

European stocks finished lower on Thursday as rising Covid-19 case numbers across the Continent continued to drag on risk appetite.

Against that backdrop, the US president and the German Chancellor were due to meet in Washington with America's ongoing travel curbs on the Schengen area expected to be high on the agenda.

"European markets have led the declines today, with a notable hawkish shift in tone from two Bank of England members raising fears of a swift withdrawal of the [UK] asset purchase scheme," said Josh Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.

"While better-than-expected jobs data out of Australia and the UK set the tone for a more positive day, that has been undermined by fears over rising Covid cases and the potential repercussions that could come into play."

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.79% to 456.94, alongside a 1.03% drop for the German Dax to 15,627.04, while the FTSE Mibtel was off by 1.25% at 24,880.26.

Front month Brent crude oil futures retreating 1.02% alongside to $74.0 a barrel on the ICE.

Overnight, the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, argued against premature monetary policy tightening in the US, with ECB governing council member, Ignazio Visco arguing for the same in the euro area on Thursday.

In the UK on the other hand, Michael Saunders, an external member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, said with the economy reviving and inflation above the MPC's 2% target the Monetary Policy COmmittee may need to end its bond-buying programme in the next month or two rather than December and increase borrowing costs in 2022.

Siemens Energy dropped 11% after it scrapped its margin target as wind power division Siemens Gamesa was hit by higher-than-expected raw material and product ramp-up costs.

Shares in Siemens Gamesa fell 14%, while shares in wind turbine maker Vestas were down 4%.

Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP retreated by 3% and 2%, respectively, as crude prices slipped on expectations of more supplies after top OPEC producer Saudi and the United Arab Emirates narrowed their differences on Wednesday night.

Shares in cybersecurity firm Avast topped the Stoxx with a 18% surge as the company confirmed it was in advanced merger talks with US peer NortonLifeLock.

Credit-checking firm Experian rose 2% after lifting full-year guidance as it reported a jump in first-quarter revenues, with all regions and segments delivering growth.

Just Eat Takeaway.com was 9% weaker even after it said losses had peaked and it expected to move back into profit after orders increased by more than half in the first six months of 2021.