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European stocks were headed for a weekly loss, amid continued concerns over the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. and fresh outbreaks elsewhere in the world, though equities attempted to push higher on Friday.
Shaking off an opening loss, the Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.10% rose 0.3% to 364.82, after three straight losing sessions. The index has lost 0.8% for the week so far. Elsewhere, the German DAX DAX, -0.05% was up 0.4%, the French CAC 40 PX1, +0.00% was up 0.2% and the FTSE 100 index UKX, +0.15% rose 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.64% pared losses, dropping 100 points and S&P 500 ES00, -0.56% and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -0.40% fell 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. The Dow DJIA, -1.38% dropped over 300 points on Thursday, with the S&P 500 SPX, -0.56% also closing lower, though the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.52% resumed an advance with a 0.5% again.
Coronavirus concerns dominated after the U.S. saw its sixth daily record for coronavirus cases in 10 days on Thursday, with fatalities also rising in some states. “The closure of schools in Hong Kong and the further tightening of virus restrictions in Australia has also fed into the underlying negative mood at the end of the week,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note to clients.
Read:Despite stock gains, investors still doubt prospects for V-shaped recovery, says Morgan Stanley
Asian markets fell, reflecting fears any global economic recovery may stall out amid those climbing cases, with Tokyo also reporting an increase in infections. The China CSI 300 index 000300, -1.81% halted an 8-session winning streak, with a loss of 1.8%. The index has climbed 14% this month, driven in part by articles in government-backed newspapers cheering on the market. That has raised questions over whether China’s latest rally will collapse on itself like it did in 2015.
Some economic cheer came from Italy, which said May industrial production jumped 42.1%, while France also saw production rebounded strongly. The U.K. has announced it will allow for reopenings of gyms, tatoo parlors, and swimming pools.
Still, investors are increasingly facing up to the fact that “any economic recovery is unlikely to be V-shaped in nature, with a range of companies starting to announce thousands of job losses this week,” said Hewson.
“This month alone we’ve seen John Lewis, Boots, Burger King, Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Upper Crust, and Harrods, to name but a few, announce thousands of job losses, in addition to the cuts announced last month from the major airlines, energy and car companies which has pushed the total of jobs at risk up to well over 100,000,” he said.
Investors will begin to hear how companies have been holding up during Covid-19, with next week marking the start of second-quarter earnings season.
Paring losses for oil companies helped Europe turn positive. Crude prices CL.1, -1.96% remained weak, but shares of BP PLC BP, -4.79% BP, -0.44% and Royal Dutch Shell Group PLC RDS.A, -4.48% RDSA, -0.08% inched up modestly from a 1% drop earlier. The International Energy Agency boosted its forecast for 2020 oil demand, but also warned that the pandemic could hamper that view, Reuters reported.
Among the gainers, tech stocks fed off U.S. strength in that sector, with STMicroelectronics STM, +4.18% rising 2.6%, and Infineon Technologies AG IFX, +1.03% rising 2%.
