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European stocks declined on Thursday on concern over U.S.-China tensions as data showed the economy has limped off the bottom.
Up 1% on Wednesday, the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.75% dropped 0.7%
The German DAX DAX, -1.04% fell 1.1%, the French CAC 40 PX1, -1.00% lost 0.7% and the U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, -0.63% declined 0.9%.
The losses came as the U.S. Senate approved sweeping new legislation Wednesday that could ultimately bar many Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. exchanges, or otherwise raising money from American investors. U.S. President Donald Trump said China’s incompetence was responsible for “mass worldwide killing.”
The decline also came in European traders’ first opportunity to react to minutes from the last Federal Reserve interest-rate setting committee, in which members fretted about the possibility of a potential second wave of infections rattling the U.S. and global economies.
Global coronavirus infections passed 5 million, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Economic data showed a eurozone economy crawling off the bottom. The flash France purchasing managers index rose to 30.5 in May from 11.1 in April, and the flash Germany PMI composite index rose to 31.4 from 17.4, on scales where any reading below 50 indicates deteriorating conditions.
Lufthansa LHA, +0.86% gained nearly 6% after saying it was in advanced talks for nearly 9 billion euros of state aid.
EasyJet EZJ, +4.97% shares rose nearly 5% as the airline said it will resume flights on June 15 with a small schedule focused on U.K. and French domestic flights.
Whitbread WTB, -15.01% shares slumped 17% after the Premier Inn owner announced it was selling £1 billion of shares.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, -0.60% fell 153 points ahead of the latest reading on U.S. jobless claims.
