Europe close: Rising Covid-19 infections drag on shares
European shares were lower at midday as investors fretted over rising coronavirus deaths in Japan, the US and on the Continent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.75% at 387.6 alongside a fall in the German DAX of 0.88% to 13,086.16, while the French CAC 40 gave back 0.4% to 21,536.24.
"Stock markets are set to finish the day in the red as lockdown worries have replaced the recent optimism generated on the back of the vaccine hopes," said David Madden at CMC Markets UK.
"Concerns about the health crisis and the lockdowns is the main theme of the session. Traders haven’t forgotten about the hopeful news from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech with respect to vaccines but concerns about damage being done to the economy is in focus today."
In equity news, B&Q owner Kingfisher shares fell 2.7% even as it reported a strong rise in third-quarter sales as consumers spent the coronavirus lockdown improving their homes.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, noted that over the last year, the outperformance of the share price has been significant, with a rise of 43% compared to a decline of 13% for the wider FTSE 100.
"Quite apart from the challenges which may be yet to come, the strong performance has led to the question of whether the shares are now up with events, as evidenced by some initial profit taking in early trade, such that the market consensus of the shares remains at a hold," he said.
In corporate news, Halma shares were up 3.11% after the safety equipment maker revised its full-year profit forecasts and lifted its interim dividend as order intake in the second half increased year-on-year.
Royal Mail stock jumped 3.3% despite swinging to a first-half loss in the first half as redundancy and Covid-19 costs more than offset higher revenue from booming parcel deliveries. The FTSE 250 group swung to a £20m operating loss in the six months to the end of September from a £61m profit a year earlier as revenue rose 9.8% to £5.7bn.
Shares in German forklift maker Kion topped the fallers, dropping 4.1% after the company said it would issue 11% more shares, at a price still to be determined.
ThyssenKrupp shares were down 3.3% as the German steelmaker said it would cut 7,400 jobs. The group also forecast a full year loss above €1bn.