European stocks and US equity futures fell on Thursday as concerns over coronaviruses simmered for investors in the wake of a strong rebound in stocks.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index
XX: SXXP
fell 0.7% to 383.66, after a rally of around 1.4% to 386.30. The index has been rising for three consecutive sessions. The DAX 30 German index
DX: DAX
down 0.8%, after rising 1.2% on Wednesday, to mark its largest increase since early February, like the Stoxx Europe 600. The French CAC 40 index
FR: PX1
down 0.9% and the FTSE 100 index
United Kingdom: UKX
slipped by 1.2%.
The gains came as US stocks rallied, which many have blamed on the news that former Vice President Joe Biden has pioneered the Democratic Party presidential race. But US equity futures fell into the red on Thursday, threatening to forfeit some of those gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average
United States: YM00,
S&P 500
United States: ES00
forward and Nasdaq-100
United States: NQ00
all fell by more than 1%.
The International Monetary Fund announced on Wednesday a $ 50 billion aid program to fight the coronavirus in a week that saw interest rates fall by the Federal Reserve and Australian and Canadian central banks. But the IMF also warned of a more serious than expected global slowdown of the virus, taking advantage of lingering concerns in the stock markets and investor sentiment.
In fact, the spread of the coronavirus continued outside China and countries were forced to adopt increasingly severe containment measures, with Italy closing its schools until mid-March. California has declared a state of emergency after announcing its first death from the virus.
On the corporate front, the virus was partly blamed for the collapse of the British regional airline Flybe, which went bankrupt. Airlines struggling to cope with declining passenger traffic, with United
USUAL
announcing Wednesday that he would cut flights and ask workers to take leave without pay.
Norwegian Air Shuttle Actions
NO: SIN
slipped 5% after the airline cut its profit forecast and said it would cut flights. Air France-KLM actions
FR: AF
drop more than 3%, although low-cost airlines easyJet
UK: EZJ
and Ryanair Holdings
IE: RY4C
increased modestly.
Airbus
EN: AIR
stocks fell more than 2%. The multinational aerospace group could cut production of its A330neo after Air Asia X announced that it would postpone deliveries due to a drop in travel due to the coronavirus, reports Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the subject .
On the upside, the actions of Hugo Boss
FROM: BOSA
Thursday reported a decrease in net profit for the fourth quarter of 2019. The company warned that the coronavirus would affect its performance in 2020, especially in the first quarter, but that the situation would gradually normalize by the middle of this year.
