European stocks are sharply lower today (April 25) as the selloff in global markets accelerates
to start the week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index is down 2% with nearly all sectors in the red apart from
utilities. Basic resources stocks — with their heavy exposure to China — are the worst
performers on the index, with that sector down 6%.
The negative trade in Europe comes after Asia-Pacific markets also fell sharply following a
selloff on Wall Street last Friday (April 22). Mainland Chinese indexes led the losses. The
Shenzhen component tumbled 6%, while the Shanghai composite index declined 5.09%.
Asian markets are also being hurt by ongoing concerns over China’s COVID-19 wave as the
world’s second-largest economy struggles to contain its worst outbreak of the virus. Over the
weekend, Beijing warned that the virus has been spreading undetected for a week.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures are down amid a four-week losing streak for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average as investors continue to assess the likelihood of rising interest rates. Wall
Street is also bracing itself for a big week of earnings, including reports from major technology
companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
Investors in Europe are also digesting the result of the French presidential election on Monday,
and monitoring the latest developments in Ukraine.
France’s Emmanuel Macron looks set to have comfortably beaten his rival Marine Le Pen in
Sunday’s election, securing a second term as president on his pro-business and pro Europe
agenda.
European investors also continue to monitor developments in Ukraine as Russia’s invasion of
the country enters its third month. The conflict has killed thousands and led to the worst refugee
crisis Europe has seen since World War II.
