European shares lose more than 5% on the week as lockdowns dull recovery hopes

• Financial

On Friday, a bundle of European bourses had winded down the session higher, though a majority of them had reported their steepest weekly percentage decline since the staggering sell-offs on March as a renewed lockdown alongside forced business closures had been hindering prospects of a quicker economic recovery.

In point of fact, Friday’s rally in the European stocks was almost entirely prodded by a number of upbeat earnings’ reports from some Spanish banks alongside the energy giant Total, while eurozone data revealing that the bloc’s economy had been gathering momentum faster-than-anticipated had added to investors’ optimism and aided the regional pan-European STOXX 600 to wrap up a volatile session up by 0.2 per cent.

Nonetheless, worries that the rebound in economic activities would be shortlived amid a renewed lockdown measure re-imposed over a raft of major eurozone economies including France, Germany and Spain had kept a lid on the gains.

European shares gain, but log sharpest weekly decline since March

Despite Friday’s marginal gains, the regional pan-European STOXX 600 had wrapped up the week more than 5 per cent lower, marking up its sharpest weekly plunge since mid-March, while Spain had declared a state of emergency on Friday and Germany alongside France had stiffened pandemic restrictions which in turn appeared to have taken a heavier toll on investors’ morale and had pushed the aforementioned bourses’ monthly performances down to a negative territory.

Quoting statistics, on Friday’s European market closing bell, bourses had rounded off the session in a mixed tenure with French CAC 40 leading the tally of the gains, while CAC 40 added 0.54 per cent and Frankfurt’s DAX alongside London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.36 per cent and 0.08 per cent respectively.

On the week, London’s FTSE 100 plunged 2.55 per cent to 5,582.80, French CAC 40 shrugged off 3.37 per cent to 4,517.12 and Frankfurt’s DAX dwindled 4.17 per cent to 11,560.51. Elsewhere in the Europe, the Euronext 100 fell 2.90 per cent to 926.45, while the Swiss market index wrapped up the week 2.72 per cent lower to 9,618.65.

Nonetheless, addressing to a likely policy easing from ECB alongside a better showing of eurozone growth, a chief market analyst at IG, Chris Beauchamp said on Friday’s European market closure, “After the drubbing it took earlier in the week, Europe is managing to avoid any bigger losses.

Better GDP figures might be helping ... but it is more likely due to a grateful realisation that even if Q4 is absolutely dire, the ECB will be along in due course with some form of rescue programme. ”