European markets ended notably lower on Friday as worries about coronavirus pandemic rose following a report that said the drug remdesivir from Gilead failed in its first randomized clinical trial.
Another factor that contributed to the decline was the failure of the European Union leaders to reach an agreement over the structure of an economic recovery fund to tackle the impact of the virus pandemic.
The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 1.1%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended down 1.28%, France’s CAC 40 shed 1.3% and Germany’s DAX lost 1.69%. Switzerland’s SMI bucked the trend and ended with a slender gain.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden settled sharply lower.
Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy and Portugal ended with moderate losses. Ireland and Turkey closed modestly higher and Ukrain ended flat.
Among the prominent losers in the German market, Lufthansa plunged nearly 9%. Deutsche Bank shed about 6.75% after S&P lowered its outlook to negative from stable.
