PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European stock markets headed south again on Thursday, finishing now in the red in two of the last three trading days after the most recent FOMC policy meeting minutes showed Fed officials were not positive about additional monetary easing.
Worries about a resurgence of coronavirus infection in Europe also weighed on markets, with Germany recording more than 1.000 new cases for a third day and Spain reporting its highest number of daily infections since April.
Norway said on Wednesday it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Britain, Austria, Greece and Ireland from Aug. 22.
Germany's DAX skidded 147.33 points or 1.14 percent to 12,830.00, while London's FTSE dropped 98.64 points or 1.61 percent to 6,013.34 and the CAC 40 in France sank 65.99 points or 1.33 percent to 4,911.24.
In Germany, Wirecard plummeted 4.56 percent, while thyssenkrupp plunged 3.90 percent, Deutsche Lufthansa tanked 3.10 percent, Deutsche Bank tumbled 3.04 percent, E.ON.E skidded 2.29 percent, Daimler dropped 2.23 percent, Volkswagen sank 2.02 percent, Heidelberg Cement shed 2.00 percent, Deutsche Telekom lost 1.42 percent and Deutsche Post fell 0.29 percent.
In London, Antofagasta plummeted 5.57 percent, while Standard Life Aberdeen plunged 4.06 percent, Royal Dutch Shell tanked 2.72 percent, Vodafone tumbled 2.55 percent, Rolls-Royce skidded 2.40 percent, British American Tobacco dropped 1.48 percent, Tesco lost 1.19 percent, Rightmove added 0.85 percent, Associated British Foods fell 0.65 percent and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust eased 0.05 percent.
In France, Veolia Environmental tumbled 3.22 percent, while Peugeot sank 3.08 percent, Credit Agricole retreated 2.71 percent, Societe Generale declined 2.62 percent, BNP Paribas dropped 2.39 percent, Accor jumped 2.25 percent, Sodexo lost 1.60 percent, Vivendi and Legrand fell 1.00 percent and Sanofi was down 0.76 percent.
In economic news, Eurozone's construction output growth sharply slowed in June, after a strong recovery in May following three months of steep declines, Eurostat said on Thursday. Construction output rose 4 percent from May, when it surged 29.4 percent, revised from 27.9 percent.
Germany's producer prices declined for the sixth straight month in July, Destatis said on Thursday - sliding 1.7 percent on year in July, slowing from the 1.8 percent decrease in June. Prices have been falling since February. On a monthly basis, producer prices gained 0.2 percent after remaining unchanged in June.
Norway's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at zero on Thursday, as expected after a surprise cut in May. In May, the rate was cut from 0.25 percent after a cumulative 125 basis points reduction in two extraordinary sessions in March from 1.50 percent. The bank reiterated that the interest rates will remain unchanged over the next couple of years, followed by a gradual rise.
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