European stocks fall as investors monitor economic data and virus fears

European stocks retreated on Wednesday afternoon as investors monitor economic data and fears of a coronavirus resurgence.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.7% by early afternoon, with autos dropping 2% to lead losses as almost all sectors slid into negative territory.

However, German stocks were affected during morning trade by technical issues on the Xetra trading platform, which operates the DAX index, causing volumes to lag the rest of the continent at the start of the session. Trading resumed at around 11:30 a.m. London time.